


Scarred Souls

by FelixFelicisWriter



Series: The Potions Master and the muggle [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Mentor Severus Snape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-17 07:09:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13654017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FelixFelicisWriter/pseuds/FelixFelicisWriter
Summary: A muggle woman finds Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy after the Potions Master blows up his cover as spy to save his godson. But is this muggle unaware of the wizarding world? OC muggle woman x Severus Snape





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Guardian Snape/Draco (no slash)  
> Genres: family, romance, mystery, drama  
> I don't own Harry Potter. The only character I own is my OC Angelica Wilson.  
> This story can be found complete in FF.net (FelixFelicisWriter account).

# Chapter 1

 

Blood. There was blood everywhere. Draco Malfoy could only focus on the red substance which was gushing out of a stomach wound, out of Severus Snape's wound. The Professor was lying uncomfortably on the pavement. He looked half dead and he seemed to be struggling to keep his black eyes open, those same black eyes which had scared so many first years with a simple glance and that now looked so weak. His skin was even paler than normal and his breathing was irregular and frail. The blond boy gulped as a nasty thought clicked: his godfather could die. He panicked. How did he end up in a sleazy muggle street from only-Merlin-knew-where with a drained off Snape? Flashes came through his mind…

* * *

 

_Narcissa Malfoy was unconscious and lay on the cold floor of her Manor. Some Death Eaters had witnessed as she had been crucioed relentlessly by Lord Voldemort until she blacked out, including her own son._

_Voldemort was now pointing his wand at the young Malfoy, who had never been so scared in his life._

_"I expected more of you, Malfoy. The task was simple: to kill the man. Yet, if it weren't for my loyal servant, that imbecile would still be breathing." Voldemort paused as Draco closed his eyes and thought of something to say, anything to save his life. "You have failed me," the Dark Lord whispered each word slowly and with loath in his voice._

_"Tell me, Malfoy… What do you expect me to do? I cannot let you go that easily without any punishment, can I?"_

_There were some cheers coming from the Death Eaters._

_"Silence!"_

_Everyone instantly shut up when they heard their master's voice resonating through the big cold room. Draco's eyes were desperately looking for his mother's body hoping that she'd wake up and get him out of this mess, for he knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of it alone. It was no use though, the curses had been so intense and so strong he doubted she'd make it out of it alive. He didn't know whether she was still breathing._

_Voldemort's wand was now caressing Malfoy's pointed chin, making the young boy cringe inside._

_"You will pay for this betrayal, Malfoy. And the price will be your death."_

_His grey eyes widened in true horror and Draco felt his palms sweating. He was dead and he knew it. He could do nothing but wait for his last breath. He was paralyzed. As soon as the first syllable of the killing curse got out of Voldemort's mouth, a silky baritone voice cried out, "Run, Draco, run!"_

_Draco didn't have time to process who had uttered these words, but miraculously, he did as the voice instructed and broke into a run, avoiding jinxes and hexes which were thrown at him._

_"Idiots! Follow the traitors!" Voldemort ordered annoyed by the interruption._

_The slytherin boy soon realized that he couldn't apparate for some reason, probably Voldemort's doing, and he also noticed the doors were closed. No spell worked. Alarmed, he did the only thing which came to his mind: he hid in his room as he tried to think of a way to get out of the manor. Suddenly, a cold and sweaty hand covered his mouth. Malfoy freaked out and tried to break free, but the person was stronger than him._

_"Get the broomstick. Now!" the silky baritone voice hissed. It was then he realized that the voice belonged to his Professor. "We'll have to fly away and then apparate once we're far away enough. Got it?"_

_Draco nodded and hurried to get the broomstick, which was luckily in the cupboard of the room they were in. They heard some steps from Death Eaters who were climbing the stairs, looking for them. Snape indicated with his finger to keep quiet. Silently, he got on the broomstick and motioned for Draco to do the same. He opened the window and once they were out he ordered the boy to close it._

_Draco was about to do it when he saw his aunt Bellatrix with mad eyes screaming at them and throwing jinxes, hexes and curses. Draco tried to stop them all before he felt the sick feeling of apparating._

* * *

 

He understood everything now. His aunt must have caught Snape with one of her dark spells. The young Malfoy cursed himself for not having stopped the witch. His eyes still hadn't moved from the wound he could see through his professor's black robes. The shape of the wound seemed familiar… It was as if he had been hurt in the same way. It was then that it clicked: Bellatrix had used _sectumsempra_  the same way Potter had used the curse against him. He tried to recall the counter-course Snape had muttered when he was the one in the same position, but the memory was too blurry.

"Professor! Can you hear me?" he yelled in a quivering voice.

Snape gave a scrawny nod.

"Good!" he squealed as he passed his hand through his platinum-blond hair, in a clear signal of distress. "You have to tell me the counter-course of  _sectumsempra_!"

"Vul-" he trailed off and looked like he was making a painful effort to voice out the words. "Vulnera san-" he coughed.

"Come on, Snape! I need to know it so that I can heal you!"

"Sanentur," he breathed out.

"Vulnera-sanentur?"

He seemed to be about to nod, but the man blacked out.

"Professor?"

There was no response.

"Bloody hell!"

Malfoy took out his wand and prayed that he had heard the words correctly. With trembling hands, he moved the wand over the wound as he whispered  _vulnera-sanentur_  over and over again. The wound stopped bleeding, but it hadn't closed. He wasn't a healer, what was he supposed to do?  _Shit, now what?_ , he thought.  _I'm a wizard with no knowledge about muggles lost in a solitary muggle neighborhood with a man who could stop breathing anytime now._

"Please, Snape! Wake up! I did everything I could…" he begged as some tears fell down his eyes, but the black-haired wizard kept still. He looked like he was sleeping, if one forgot about his paleness and his gash.

"Dammit Snape! My father is in Azkaban and my mother is probably dead! You're my godfather! You can't leave me too! Stay with me!" he screamed as he kept hitting his chest, hoping the smacks would wake him up. Malfoy tried to think of something to do, but he was an outsider to the strange muggle world. He didn't know how to react but there was one thing he was sure of: he had to hide everything magic-related. Quickly, he vanished the flying broomstick and then he took Severus wand and hid it with his own.

Just as he did that he heard a gasp. It didn't come from Snape, so it meant that the solitary muggle street wasn't as solitary as he had previously thought. He swallowed the fear of the unknown and turned around, only to be face to face with a muggle woman who had let some bags she was carrying fall to the pavement due to the shock.

"Oh my god! Is he dead?" she asked Draco with a quaking voice.

"I-I don't k-know…" he stammered.

The woman pushed the teenager aside and put her fingers on Snape's neck.

"He's alive! Come on, we have to call an ambulance!"

"Ambulance?" wondered Draco with a confused frown. He had never heard the term.

"Yes, ambulance! He needs to go to hospital! Now!"

"We can't go to a mug-hospital!" Malfoy begged, relieved that he had corrected himself before mumbling the word  _muggle_.

"This man has a huge wound on his stomach! He needs medical help!"

"Not from a bloody hospital!" The young wizard was scared that if they actually went to a muggle institution and they started to make questions, everything could turn out pretty bad. No. He had to be discreet. A hospital wasn't the solution.

"Please! I've stopped the bleeding, but the gash doesn't close!"

The woman seemed distressed for a moment, pondering what to do, until she realized that this wounded man wasn't going to make it through without her help. Following her gut, she mumbled, "Fine. No hospitals. I live two blocks from here. Help me!"

She forgot about her bags and put Severus's left arm around her neck, motioning Draco to do the same with his right arm. They had to climb the stairs up to a 5th floor carrying the man, for there was no lift on the block of flats. The muggle opened her apartment and carefully put Severus on her bed.

"I'll get the first aid kit! Stay here!"

Draco was so nervous that he didn't even take a look at the apartment. His eyes were fixed on the stomach wound. When the muggle got back, she didn't waste any time and instructed, "Help me to remove his clothes!"

"Excuse me?" he didn't want to see his Professor naked.

The woman rolled her eyes and replied, "He needs to be shirtless so that I can inspect the cut better and actually heal it, so will you help me? Every second counts. The wound could bleed again, so be careful."

Against his wishes, he helped the woman out. Once he was shirtless the woman gasped. Draco saw the Dark Mark in his pale arm and froze for a second, but then he calmed down as he remembered that the woman was an ordinary muggle. She wouldn't know about Voldemort. His guess was that she had gasped due to the sight of countless scars all over his chest and belly. The truth was that it was a nasty view. He waited for the woman to react, but she didn't. Frowning, he eyed her and saw that she was petrified, staring at the Dark Mark. Her eyes had turned a shade darker and she looked like she wanted to kill the man, not save him.

"Madam?"

The muggle snapped out of it, bit her lip and babbled, "I think this needs stitches. I'm no nurse, but I'll do my best."

Draco observed as the muggle treated the wound. It was then that he really took in her appearance. The woman was slightly shorter than average. Her skin was tanned: not dark enough to be considered black or fair enough to be considered white. She had curly dark brown hair which reminded him of an afro style. Her eyes were hazel with some golden bits in them. Her nose was upturned and she had large full lips. It was easy to see that she was a mulatto woman: half white half black. What shocked him most about her though was her belly: she was pregnant.

When she was half-way through her task she requested, "Damn! Please, lad! Could you bring me the bags! They'll be on the pavement, luckily, if someone hasn't robbed them yet… I was so worried I forgot to close the door, so go, please!"

Draco was stunned. He didn't want to leave Snape alone with this stranger, but he knew he couldn't help him much in this situation. Hence, he got the bags, which no one had stolen, and got in again. Once he entered, he saw that the woman had finished the job and was pointing at him with a big and sharp knife. Her hazel eyes looked mad. The poor color from his already pale face whitened even more.


	2. Chapter 2

# Chapter 2

 

The sharp knife was pointing at Draco. His breathing had accelerated and he let the bags he had picked up on the street land on the floor because of the mix of shock and fear he was feeling. Why did everybody want to kill him? First Voldemort and now this bloody muggle. Although what could he do? Taking out his wand and defending himself with magic wasn't even an option: Snape was still unconscious in the bedroom and he couldn't leave anyway. He was lost in the muggle world. Before he could think of something to say, the mulatto woman screeched, "What is that man to you? Is he your father? Your uncle, perhaps?"

"H-He's my g-godfather and m-my teacher," he stammered out of fear.

"Show me your arm!"

"Wha-"

"Now!"

He quickly rolled up his sleeve and revealed the pale skin free of any Dark Mark.

"The other arm!"

Draco gulped and did as told. The Dark Mark was clearly visible now. The muggle woman got even madder and shrieked, "Who have you killed?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I've seen that bloody thing before! It's already ruined my life once; I'm not about to stand by and watch as it ruins it again," she said as she eyed the skull with the snake.

Of all the muggles in the world he had to cross paths with this crazy woman who seemed to know about Death Eaters.

"What do you know about it?" he asked bluntly.

"You are in no position to ask me anything, lad. You are assassins and I have helped you out, which makes me an accomplice to murder. Can't you see? I'm pregnant! I cannot go to prison and I won't leave my children motherless! So start talking, now!"

Children? As in more than one child? Did the woman have another child? Draco wondered about it, but didn't pronounce the words out loud.

"We are no murderers," he stated. Well, Severus had killed a man, but he wasn't about to reveal that.

"Really? And why wouldn't you want to go to hospital then?" She let out a bitter laugh before continuing, "I should have realized it sooner: you have committed a crime. Why else wouldn't you want to get professional medical attention? Doctors would make uncomfortable questions for you to answer..."

She brought the knife closer to his neck. Draco started to sweat, but stayed silent. The woman quickly threatened him, "If you don't tell the truth this very instant, I'm calling the police."

_What the bloody hell does "police" mean?_ , thought Draco.

"W-we have done n-nothing."

"I don't believe you. Your people bring nothing but disgrace."

"Lower the knife…" he pleaded. He couldn't think straight with it pointing at him.

"I'm acting in self-defense. I won't lower it until I feel safe, and honestly, I believe I should be calling the police right now."

Draco still didn't know what the police were, but the term didn't sound nice. He knew that the only way to make her lower the knife was to tell her something. He couldn't tell her the whole truth, obviously, so he stuck for a half truth.

"Wait! You want the truth? Here's the truth. Someone wants me dead. That man you helped nearly died saving me. They are searching for us in this exact moment and if we went to a hospital they would find us and kill us," he squeaked exasperated.

Her hazel eyes seemed to pierce his soul, looking for any sign of deceit and dishonesty. She found none and hesitantly lowered the knife. Draco sighed in relief.

"Why do they want to kill you?"

How was he supposed to tell her that? He thought quickly and mumbled, "The person who wants to kill me feels betrayed and wants to have his revenge. If it wasn't for Snape I wouldn't be breathing now."

"His name is Snape?"

Draco gave a nod and he clarified, "Severus Snape."

"You said he was your godfather and your teacher…" She frowned and inquired, "Where are your parents then? They will surely protect you, won't they?"

Draco felt the beginning of some tears forming in his grey orbs, so he avoided her eyes and with a very low voice he susurrated, "My father is in Azka- in prison and my mother… I don't even know whether she is alive. We got away before I could make sure she wasn't dead."

Something in her attitude changed when he confessed it. Her hazel eyes looked like she was recalling something for a few seconds. She didn't sound defensive or angry anymore, she sounded worried and like she understood him.

"How can I know you're telling me the truth?"

"You'll have to trust me, please."

It sounded like he was begging her now and a tear had finally made his way down his cheek. His whole body was trembling, for he still could feel the sharp knife on his neck, even though she had already stopped threatening him. He could see Voldemort's red eyes directed to him with so much hatred he had never believed it was possible to hold. He couldn't stop hearing his mother's painful screams and Bellatrix shouting curses.

The muggle woman saw that he was shaking with fear and that he appeared to be remembering something. He didn't look like he was lying in that moment, so she took pity on him and put a hand on his shoulder. The contact made him snap out of his daze, but his grey eyes still showed terror.

"OK. Let's say I trust you. Do you have any other family members you can rely on?"

He snorted, "I have a crazy Aunt who would gladly kill me too… No. The only one I can lean on is my godfather."

The woman nodded and closed the door. Then, she put the knife in the kitchen and turned to the boy.

"Do you think these people who are after you can find you here? Please. I'm pregnant with twins; I don't want to put them in danger."

_So that was why she said "children": she was expecting twins_ , thought Malfoy.

"I don't know. My guess is that they'd never look here, but I'm not 100% sure," he replied in all honesty with a shrug. He trusted Snape; if he had apparated here then it meant they were safe for the moment. At least, he wanted to believe so.

"Have you got somewhere to go?"

"No."

"Don't you think you should tell the police about your situation?"

He didn't know what she meant again, so he replied, "I can't."

The woman bit her lip in nervousness and pondered the circumstances. It felt like forever until Draco heard her say, "You'll stay here until Snape recovers. Then, I want you out of my house and out of my life. And of course, you won't mention where you stayed to anyone. Got it?"

Draco nodded. The woman took a big breath and instructed him to follow her. He did and she handed him an old muggle T-shirt and pajama pants.

"These were from my ex-boyfriend… They will look a little big on you, but I have nothing else. Take a shower. The bathroom is by the end of the corridor."

Malfoy thanked her and did as told. While the water poured against his skin he couldn't help but think what the bloody hell he had done to find himself in such a mess.

When he got out, he went to Severus and saw that he still hadn't woken up. He stared at him. Why would the Dark Lord's most loyal Death Eater defy his wishes? His mother had told him about the unbreakable vow, but that only lasted until Dumbledore died. He was free of it. Why would he risk his life then? The only logical reason was that either, he cared for him or he was a spy. Probably both. Aunt Bella had been right all this time. His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the muggle, "Hey, lad! Come here! Dinner's ready."

Dinner time with a stranger was awkward to say the least. The muggle didn't comment anything and neither did Draco. When they finished, the woman said, "I have no guest room. You'll have to sleep next to your godfather. I'll take the sofa."

He frowned and wondered, "No offense, miss, but you're pregnant. Shouldn't you sleep on your bed?"

"I should. But you're my guest and-"

"I'll sleep on the sofa," he claimed as an ultimatum. He didn't know why he cared for the well-being of a muggle woman, but he guessed that if he was to live with her for some time, he better tried to make it as nice as possible.

The woman nodded half-heartedly.

"Thank you, er- I don't know your name…"

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

She chuckled and muttered under her breath, "You surely have weird names… Severus and Draco."

Draco felt offended by the comment but kept a stoic face.

"I'm Angelica Wilson."

Suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Er- Wilson… Won't the father come home? Where will he sleep?"

"The father won't show up. And call me Angelica," she said in a cutting tone.

There was an uncomfortable silence until the muggle told the boy, "I wake up at 6 o'clock to go to work. I won't return until three o'clock. Don't go out. Stay with Snape. If he wakes up, call this number…"

She handed him a note with some numbers.

"Call?"

"Phone. The telephone is there," she clarified as she pointed to a corner.

He still didn't know what she meant by  _call,_   _phone_  and _telephone_ , but he let it be. Instead, he asked her, "You look like you are 7 or 8 months pregnant. Why do you work?"

She raised an eyebrow and in a harsh tone she spat, "I don't know in which world you live, but in mine people must work in order to survive."

Draco didn't dare to look her in the eye. He heard her sigh and whisper, "Do you want to watch TV before going to sleep?"

He didn't know what the TV was, but he nodded anyway. She motioned for him to sit on the sofa and started to look for something which Draco couldn't make out.

"So… I don't know your tastes, but the only VHSs I buy are Disney. Choose. I have Dumbo, Peter Pan, Cinderella…"

What the bloody hell was Disney? And Dumbo? And Peter Pan? And Cinderella? He looked lost and finally replied, "Dumbo will do."

"As you wish."

Draco let out a startled yelp when she opened the TV and images of a baby elephant started to show.

"Bloody hell!"

"What's wrong? One would think you've never watched TV before…"

If only she knew…

* * *

 

The first thing Draco remembered when he woke up was his mother lying unconsciously on the floor. The second one was Severus's blood. The third one was Angelica pointing the knife at him. The fourth one was a bloody elephant with big ears. He groaned and looked at the time: eight thirty.  _Wilson must be out_ , he thought. There was a post-it next to the clock which said:

_Good morning,_

_I'm going to work, and as I told you yesterday, I won't return home until three o'clock. I don't know if you can cook, so I prepared a sandwich for breakfast and some salad and roasted chicken for lunch. You can use the microwave if you need. Remember to call me if he wakes up._

_Angelica_

_P.S. You can watch the TV. Please, don't leave home._

He had no idea what the microwave was and he didn't know how to switch on the bloody TV to spend the time doing something. Dumbo had been weird, but he had enjoyed it anyway. Besides, he was curious to know what Peter Pan and Cinderella were about. He was glad Wilson had cooked something though, for he couldn't prepare anything without house-elves' help. Before going to the kitchen to get the sandwich he went to see Severus. He didn't look like he had woken up during the night, but the color had returned to his face, which was a relief. After eating, he decided to stay by his side, hoping that he would open his black eyes.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Snape didn't seem to wake up. Draco was about to get up and try to turn that bloody device the muggle woman called  _TV_  on so that he could kill the time – even if he didn't succeed, which was likely to happen - when he heard a painful groan coming from his Professor's lips. His eyes widened in expectation and he turned his face to the wizard, hoping to see his usual snarky expression. He kept still though, making the blonde boy sigh in disillusionment.  _I imagine things now_ , he thought, blaming it on his lack of sleep. The sofa hadn't turned out to be the best place in the world to rest for the night. In fact, his back and his neck hurt like hell. He should have been selfish and taken Angelica's offer. Even though he would have had to sleep next to his godfather, an experience which would have been particularly awkward, the bed looked way more comfortable. At least his back and neck would have been safe. He made to leave, when he heard a croaky voice calling his name.  _This was certainly not my imagination_ , he thought. He turned and saw his godfather's coal eyes piercing his soul. The teenager let out a relieved sigh and sat on the bed, beside him.

"I'm not going to ask you how you feel, sir. I've been through this and it doesn't help."

Severus gave a scrawny nod. He was feeling extremely tired and a little sleepy; and he was relieved his godson didn't put him in a position which would make him feel even more vulnerable; like admitting his whole body was in pain.

"What is this place?" he simply demanded. It was clear it was hard for him to speak, as the usually stern voice came out feeble.

"Angelica Wilson's home."

Snape furrowed his brow in confusion and Malfoy wasted no more time and told him what had happened.

"When you told me the counter-curse I did what I could to help you. The bleeding stopped, but your gash kept open… A muggle woman, Angelica, found us. She wanted to go to the hospital, but I didn't let her. Instead, she…" he trailed off, pointing at his stitches, as if telling him that she had healed his huge wound. Snape nodded weakly, as if telling him that he understood what he was trying to convey. "Angelica wants us out of her home once you're fully recovered…"

"It's understandable," the man replied, calmly. He wanted to know how his godson had succeeded in convincing a muggle not to go to a medical center when he was sure he had looked half-dead. He didn't have the chance though, for the boy kept talking: "She knows something, sir."

The Potions Master raised an eyebrow, but even this minor gesture sucked a lot of energy out of him. He only wanted to go back to sleep or to eat something to gain some strength. Despite it, he made an effort to try and keep his eyes open until the slytherin boy told him everything. Draco saw his exhausted expression, so he took the hint and hurried to explain, "She stared at your Dark Mark with mad eyes. I think she knows we are wizards, and she believes we are  _evil_ ones at that. She even threatened me with a knife…"

Snape's brain seemed to finally wake up. His black eyes widened and his heart stalled.

"What?"

"I told you that she must know something… She made me show her my Dark Mark and called us assassins."

The man snorted.

"You and I have been called worse…"

Malfoy ignored his comment and added, "She kept yelling about calling the…" he trailed off, recalling the term. "Police, I think? Or something similar to it, anyway. I don't know what they are, but I didn't want to find out… So I told her the truth."

"Are you mad?" he snarled in his gruff voice.

"She was pointing a bloody sharp big knife at me! And it was a half-truth, anyway; nothing too specific…" he cried out in self-defense. "It made the trick work. We are staying here, so we are safe, right? They shouldn't look for us in here…"

"We shouldn't stay in the same place for long, Draco. Do not underestimate them… They can still find us in this bloody muggle neighborhood. We are just below Potter in the Dark Lord's list of most wanted wizards. And if the muggle didn't hesitate to threaten you the way she did, I wouldn't call this place  _safe._ "

There was a short pause. The air was very tense and Draco tried to forget that all the Death Eaters were after them.

"What exactly did you tell her?" inquired Snape, shaking his thoughts off.

He shrugged and answered, "That we murdered no one, that you got hurt saving my life, that they are looking for us to kill us… Her attitude changed when I mentioned that my father was in prison and that I didn't know whether my mother was still alive."

Draco felt the beginnings of some tears forming in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He had never been good at expressing emotions, anyway.

"Where's the woman?"

"Working. She'll get home at three o'clock." The boy looked at the time and added, "Which means she'll be here in 5 minutes…"

"Just great," replied the man in a sarcastic tone.

"She told me to  _phone_  her if you woke up… What the hell does  _phone_  mean?"

Sighing, the man explained, "It's a muggle way of communication. Muggles are able to hear their voices dialing a number in a device called a telephone, no matter the distance…"

"Really? That exists?" he asked. He would never admit it, but he thought it was way more practical than owling.

"Listen to me, Draco. We really don't know for sure what this muggle knows. It's of vital relevance that you obey me and do not reveal anything else about the wizarding world or about our situation. Do I make myself clear?" he requested, sounding more like the Professor the boy was used to.

"Crystal."

Severus closed his eyes and tried to relax. Malfoy hesitated a little, but he had been quiet all morning and he hadn't been able to talk to anyone. He needed to chat or he'd go crazy, even if it was with the wounded man.

"Have you ever seen an elephant fly?"

Snape's eyes opened in shock and looked at him like he had grown two heads.

"Excuse me?"

"Yesterday I watched  _Dumbo._ "

"You did what?"

"I watched  _Dumbo_. It's about an elephant with huge ears."

"I know what  _Dumbo_  is… I don't need the synopsis," he grunted.

"So you've seen it? Angelica has more of those… I think she called them VSHs."

"VHSs," he corrected him.

"It was a bizarre experience… But I liked it."

The situation was so surreal that the Potions Master could do nothing but snort.

In that moment, they heard a door opening and a feminine voice shouting, "Draco? I'm home!"

"I'm in the bedroom!" he yelled back.

They heard the sound of steps approaching. When Snape saw the woman his eyes widened. She was a mulatto of average beauty. He wasn't one to judge the physical appearance of anyone, though, considering his own looks. What caught him by surprise was her big belly.

"You forgot to mention a little yet important detail, Draco. She's pregnant," he hissed in a low voice, so that only the boy could hear him.

Malfoy didn't even listen to him though, for the woman was already scolding him. Her face expressed disappointment and anger, and her shrieking voice mirrored the same emotions.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're living in my flat! The least you could do is to obey my orders, don't you think? Ungrateful brat! I recall telling you to phone me if he woke up. It's evident he did, yet I received no call. Do you think I deserve this? For all I know you could still be bloody criminals! I don't really know the reason why that guy wanted to kill you in the first place, lad, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't because you spilled his milk! It must have been something huge! I don't want to get the knife, but I will if you don't do as I say again. Is that clear? Or do you need me to repeat it? Because I got the impression you were a clever boy, but you have proven me wrong. I thought we spoke the same language, you know? It's not that difficult to remember to call me!"

Snape blinked. This woman took no shit from anyone and was fierce. One would think she was hysterical, but Severus knew that if he were in the same situation he would have reacted in a similar way. He couldn't begin to imagine what this woman had looked like with a knife on her hand and pointing it at Draco. Now he understood the way his godson must have felt: bloody terrified. Malfoy gulped when she finished her rambling. The woman sure didn't need a knife to make him tremble in fear.

"You!" she squawked, pointing her index finger at Severus. "Can you speak?"

Severus only gave a slow nod.

"When did you wake up?" she demanded sternly.

"About 25 minutes ago…"

Her expression softened a little and her mouth formed an "O". Her pride didn't let her admit it, but she knew that 25 minutes ago she was already walking back home. She had given Draco her job number, so he wouldn't have been able to contact her even if he did try. The truth was that she felt bad for yelling at the boy like that. Nevertheless, she shooed the guilt away and glanced at Snape, who felt his whole world stop when he noticed just how striking and unique her eyes were. His face was stony though.

"Sorry for the awkward and inappropriate introduction. I'm Angelica Wilson and he must have already informed you, but this is my flat and you'll be out as soon as you can stand."

The woman managed to sound rude even when she was apologizing, but he wasn't going to blame her.

"Severus Snape."

She stared at his eyes, as if trying to figure him out. Snape held his gaze and showed no emotion. Eventually, she gave up and sat next to Draco.

"I'll take a look at your wound, OK?"

She didn't wait for his reply. She was already looking at his wound. Her fingers unconsciously grazed his belly, sending shivers down his spine. It had been too long since he had been with a woman, and this simple and nearly non-existent rub affected him too much for his liking.

"It seems to be healing properly… You lost a lot of blood though, so you should stay in bed until your body recovers. I bought some pomade which might help to increase the pace of the healing. Three times a day will be enough."

As she said this, she put some of the pomade on her fingers. She started to spread the product around the swollen zone. He had expected her touch to be hard and rough, as her personality. To his amazement, her touch was soft. No one had ever touched him with so much care. It made him feel uncomfortable and vulnerable, yet warm. He shut his eyes and tried to push the feeling away, hoping that Malfoy and Wilson would interpret it as tiredness, which wasn't an utter lie.

"I'll cook you something. Eating will help you recover faster."

And just like that, she left the wizards alone. Snape found it suspicious that she hadn't questioned him about the Dark Mark or that she was helping them, despite her obvious distrust. When he woke up, he certainly hadn't expected to find himself helpless alongside his godson in a muggle flat; a flat which belonged to this mysterious woman. Both wizards couldn't wait to get out of there.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Miraculously, Snape had managed to stay awake until Wilson returned with some food she had just cooked.

"Can you feed yourself?" she inquired. She hadn't sounded like she really cared, nay her composure was hostile.

Severus blushed in embarrassment at the question. He thought she was both mad and uncompassionate, for asking him that. Nevertheless, the moment he tried to grab the spoon he realized that his pulse was trembling. He cursed himself and shut his eyes, hoping that the woman didn't need any words to notice he really couldn't feed himself. Before Angelica could step forward and help him out, Draco, who had stayed by his godfather's side, went ahead and took out the spoon from his shaking hand. Wordlessly, he began to feed his teacher as if he were a toddler. He knew that Snape would feel vulnerable in that position, but he thought it was way better to be fed by him than by a cranky stranger. Draco had expected this to happen, for when he had been cursed by Potter, he had spent one week in the Infirmary and the medi-witch had enchanted the cutlery so that he could eat during the first days. However, magic wasn't an option now.

Snape had never felt so humiliated in his life. The muggle eyed them with an unreadable expression and cleared her throat. She told them she would be doing some house chores, if they needed anything else, and got out of the room. Draco was about to say something to console the wounded man, but the moment he opened his mouth, Severus spat cuttingly, "I swear, Draco, you better not say anything to me about this misfortunate situation or, as soon as I can stand on my feet, you will regret it."

The boy gulped and kept on with the task in hand.

* * *

 

A week passed. Draco had learnt to switch on the TV and had enjoyed some more Disney films while Angelica was out at work. Severus had joined him occasionally, claiming he was going to get bored to death otherwise. He had improved quite a lot since the incident. Today he had been able to stand, with some difficulty, that was true, but it was still a huge step. A few more days and the muggle woman would make them leave. She had taken care of his wound, but they really hadn't talked, and anyway, the few occasions in which they had had a chit-chat, it hadn't been precisely friendly. She was a cold and reserved woman, and Draco found himself taking pity of her unborn twins. Severus, on the other hand, felt intrigued by her. She was mysterious, to say the least. Here she was, a muggle woman who seemed to know about Death Eaters and yet, took the risk of helping them. She had stated that she didn't really trust them, so why would she assist them? Why hasn't she referred to their wizard condition not even once? There had been times, when she spread the pomade over his wound, in which Snape had felt the urge to ask her these questions right away, but he had reprimanded himself from doing so. What if the woman didn't know as much as it seemed at first glance? They would be exposing themselves, and it would be dangerous. Just as these thoughts were running through his mind, Angelica arrived. She had told them she'd get home later than usual, for she had to run some errands.

The first thing she did when she got to the living room was wrinkle her nose and ask, "Is Severus cooking?"

Draco, who was watching  _The Lion King,_  simply shrugged. The woman narrowed her eyes and turned off the TV.

"Wha-Why did you have to do that?" he sneered with an indignant huff.

Rolling her eyes, Wilson retorted, "Oh, please! Stop being such a baby! You've seen it a hundred times! I'm impressed you don't know the full script by now! The only thing you seem to do is plant your arse on the sofa and watch TV! You could do something worthwhile, like, I don't know, sweeping the floor or watering the flowers! But no, Mister Disney fan cannot even rise from the seat because it would be  _so_  tiring. It is better to let a wounded man who happens to be your godfather cook while you watch  _The Lion King_ than give him a hand, that's what you think, isn't it?"

"I happen to enjoy it! Is it such a crime?"

Putting her hands on her hips, she retorted, "It is when you ignore a pregnant woman who's letting you stay at her home! Now, will you answer me?"

"Yes! He is cooking! If he wants to make dinner, then I'll let him! It's the first time he's done something apart from complaining in the bed and making snarky comments about the films! Can I keep watching Scar and Simba now?"

The woman huffed in irritation, ignored him and went to the kitchen. Even before she reached the room, Snape heard her screaming, "What the hell do you think you are doing? Yesterday you needed help to walk! And now you are making dinner? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"I really haven't given you the right impression if you think I'm the one to joke around, Angelica," he answered calmly, with his eyes fixated on the meal he was preparing.

He turned his head so that his hair covered his face. Lowering his voice considerably, he muttered under his breath, "A simple thank you would have been enough."

"And I really haven't given you the right impression either," she countered back, imitating his words from earlier. "I am pregnant, not deaf. They are different things. I can hear you, Severus."

The man blushed in embarrassment and kept cooking to dissimulate it. He had whispered those words so low he had had trouble to hear them himself. Apparently, the muggle had a sharp ear.

In a softer tone which she hardly ever used, she soughed, "You don't have to do this, Severus. I can manage."

Snape swallowed his astonishment at the gentleness her voice had displayed and growled, "Has it crossed your brilliant mind that I'm not doing it for you? That I am only cooking to avoid watching _The Lion King_  for the fourth time?"

The mulatto woman arched an eyebrow. She nearly pitied the man.

"You may be able to stand on your feet, but I'm sure you're still feeling weak. You must be tired. Go to bed. I'll finish it."

"You say it as if being pregnant isn't exhausting…" he pointed out, "Besides, I feel like I will go mad if I stay in that bed another minute."

Severus knew he had chosen the wrong words the moment her gentle attitude became an agitated one once again.

"Ungrateful man! I have welcomed you home, cooked for you, lend you some clothes and looked after you! And you still have the nerve to complain? Even the spoiled boy you have for a godson has more manners than you!"

Snape clenched his fists, turning his knuckles white. No one had ever spoken to him in such a manner. He was used to being the Head of the Slytherin House, after all, and students respected and even feared him. No one dared to talk to him in such tone, not even Potter. She was the only person who had ever got under his skin, and, strangely, he didn't mind it. It was something new for Snape and he'd rather argue with her than stay silent all day. It made him feel alive and forget about the fiasco he and his godson were in.

Angelica left the kitchen only to return a few moments later. She handed him a book and told him in a neutral tone, "Here. You don't have to watch Timon and Pumbaa singing  _Hakuna Matata_  for the fourth time…"

Snape raised an eyebrow in surprise, left the book aside and kept cooking. The woman groaned in frustration and Severus smirked at her reaction. He was getting to her, just as much as she got to him just before, and he enjoyed the feeling. His smirk disappeared soon enough off his face though as Wilson grabbed his hand and stopped him from stirring the ingredients. The contact sent shivers down the Potions Master's spine. Her hand was warm, despite her usual cold pose, and Snape couldn't help but stare at her hazel eyes, her gorgeous hazel orbs with golden sparks which made his heart skip a beat every time he noticed them. The woman stared back at him too. For a few seconds, they stood like this, with their hands touching and their glances connected. The first one to snap out of the daze was Angelica, who broke the contact and cleared her throat.

"If you can already stand, my guess is that in a few days you'll be able to leave. Do us all a favor and rest. Take the book. I'll finish this," she murmured while indicating with her hand all the half-cooked food.

"It may have escaped your notice, but I happen to be an adult and I can take care of myself. You don't get to order me around. I am not your son."

The woman simply snorted and countered back, "And it may have escaped your notice, but this is my house and you aren't well yet. Go and rest."

Snape cursed the woman for matching his snarky remarks and held his gaze, trying to intimidate her as if she were a first year dunderhead. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"You are supporting yourself on the kitchen countertop, Severus. If you rest now, tomorrow you'll be able to stand or even walk without any support."

"Why do you care?"

"I want you two out of my house as soon as possible."

To his dismay, the man could do nothing but obey her the moment he lost his balance and proved her that she had been right all along.

* * *

 

"You can walk…" observed Draco three days later.

"Obviously," came the short answer from his godfather, who had raised an eyebrow and was eyeing him as if it was a waste of time to point out the evidence.

Gulping, Malfoy wondered, "What now? Angelica will make us get out…"

The Potions Master couldn't reply, for they heard the sound of keys opening the door, indicating the woman had just returned home. When she saw the black-haired wizard standing on his own two feet without any support she fought a grin which threatened to appear on her face. Instead of smiling, Wilson cleared her throat and, impassive, she mumbled, "Good to know I'll get my flat back. You may stay another night, if you still don't feel well enough-"

"That won't be necessary."

"Perfect. Go on then, leave the clothes I lent you and get out of here," she instructed. Severus made his way out and before Draco could do the same, Angelica grabbed his shirt and brought him face to face. Their noses were barely touching and her hazel eyes held a threatening look, "Remember what I told you, lad, you better forget where you have stayed these past few days… I don't want to be in danger because of your kind. Understood?"

Malfoy could only nod and thank Merlin she hadn't used a knife this time.

A few minutes later, both wizards were on the doorway, ready to depart. Draco and Severus were relieved that they were leaving this place and the grumpy woman behind but there was a part of them which was terrified. Where to go now? They couldn't ask for the Order's protection because Snape had killed Dumbledore, and no one would ever give them the chance to explain what had really happened, let alone if they saw their former spy accompanied by another Death Eater, even if it was a teenager. Besides, if somehow the Order of Phoenix helped them, some Death Eaters may find them and the members of said Order would be exposed. Severus couldn't do that to them. He knew they were trapped, he and Draco. Lord Voldemort wouldn't stop making their lives hell before killing them. Both wizards were aware that the only useful thing they could do was to help Harry and defeat Voldemort once and for all, come hell or high water.

Malfoy felt like, despite the reserved and sometimes discourteous attitude of the woman, Wilson deserved a little gratitude; after all, she had saved Snape's life and looked after them, even if it was with a scowl on her face.

"Thanks for everything, Angelica. You may not think so, but you didn't just save my godfather's life… You also saved mine. If he had died, I would already be dead too." The honesty and fear of what could have happened was palpable in his grey eyes and Draco was surprised at his own words. If someone had told him a month ago that he'd be thanking a muggle for saving his life, he would have called them crazy and laughed at their faces.

Severus glanced at his godson trying to mask a sudden admiration and respect for him. He knew he would have never shown gratitude towards a muggle, but somehow, he had managed to grow out of it. It was a simple gesture he had been meaning to make (to thank her), but his stubbornness and pride had got on his way.

The woman seemed to be taken aback, for her eyes were wide and she let out gasp. She was moved by his words, so trying to disguise it, she cleared her throat and replied, "I think you're exaggerating, lad, but you are welcome." Then she faced Severus, raised an eyebrow and teased with a playful smile that neither Snape nor Draco had ever witnessed on her, "See? I told you that he has better manners than you do…"

The wizard didn't reply. He was too lost in her hazel eyes. She seemed to become hypnotized by his black orbs too when suddenly; they heard terrified yelps and some cruel laughs.

"Aunt Bella…" Draco murmured with a quivering voice and a frightened expression on his face the moment he recognized one of those laughs.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Snape's pupils dilated and Malfoy started to tremble. They knew that the only way they could get out of there alive was using magic, but Wilson was with them. They still weren't sure about what exactly she knew regarding their world, if she knew something at all. As the laughs and screams got louder, Angelica closed the door and told the boy with panic in her voice, "Don't tell me this is the crazy aunt you told me about, the one who wouldn't hesitate to kill you…"

Malfoy could only gulp and stare at her with big terrified eyes, and even though he didn't voice his thoughts, Angelica fathomed that, indeed, that was the woman. The muggle grumbled in frustration and passed her hand through her curly hair, trying to ease her own stress and fear. She closed her eyes and took a big breath to calm down. When she opened her hazel eyes once again, they were cold, as if the chaos which was going to settle at her home wouldn't affect her. She turned her attention to Severus, who had been unsuccessfully trying to think of a way to get out of this mess without putting anyone in danger.

"I have a gun. I'll go get it. If your godson is telling the truth, then all of us are at risk. I won't stand and observe as your people ruin me again, I am going to defend myself," she trailed off for a second before adding as an afterthought, "and you two too. Come on, hide wherever you can."

She flew out and went to get her gun. Draco eyed his godfather with bafflement plastered on his face. The crazed and pitiless laughs were getting closer and he was at loss.

"They will find us, Draco, there's no point in hiding here. We must apparate."

The blond boy nodded rapidly, in total agreement. Then, the image of the mulatto woman came to his mind.

"Wait! What about Angelica? We cannot leave her here! They will kill her!"

"I know, ok?! I'm trying to think of something, but I see no other feasible option than apparating…"

"She's a bloody muggle! If we apparate she'll…"

In that moment the mulatto woman arrived, interrupting their little discussion. Her composure was cool, but she was sweating, indicating that on the inside, she was shaking in fear. Draco had no idea what she was holding in her hands, but he supposed that weird object was what she had referred to as a  _gun_.

Angelica was clueless about what they were discussing, as 'muggle' and 'apparating' were not familiar words to her. She had heard the term 'muggle' once, but the memory it carried with it had been buried deep in her brain, as she tried desperately to forget everything about that frightening night. For a moment, flashes of what happened came to her mind, when a particular spine-chilling yelp from a neighbor reminded her about the situation she was about to confront, snapping her out of her memories. She shook her head, as if trying to forget about it and focused on the task at hand.

"What are you still doing here?! She will get in here anytime now! I told you to hide!" she hissed, starting to lose control of her cool attitude.

Snape and Malfoy exchanged looks for a second. They seemed to communicate without needing words: they had to leave this place now, and Wilson would have to accompany them, muggle or not. The Potions Master gave him a nod and took hold of the woman's arm while the boy grabbed his other hand.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

The last thing Draco saw was Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback kicking off the door and pointing their wands at them, ready to shoot some curses. He closed his eyes, expecting to be hit by some spell when the revolting sensation of apparating came into his stomach. The crazy laughs and screams faded until everything he could hear was the wind softly hitting his pale skin, alongside the singing of some nightingales. He could smell the rain, a fresh earthy smell which managed to appease him. Slowly, he opened his silver-tinted eyes, only to find himself into the woods, Merlin knew where precisely, alongside the two adults who he had been living with for the past days. He let out a relieved sigh when his mind registered that his aunt and the merciless werewolf were far from them. His alleviation didn't last long, though, for next thing he knew, Angelica was staring at them with wide eyes before collapsing on the ground, blacking out.

* * *

 

Both wizards had managed to transfigure some broken branches, rocks, bushes and other forest debris into a little shelter, similar to a tent, where they could stay the night. Snape had left to look for food while Draco looked after Angelica. The muggle didn't seem to be waking up any time soon and Malfoy was partially relieved by it: it meant that he could have a moment to collect his thoughts. He had assumed that no Death Eaters would find him or Snape in a muggle apartment, yet, he had been wrong and that had almost cost them their lives. He was still agitated by all the turn of events, and the fact that they didn't even know how to operate now. They were in the middle of nowhere with a pregnant muggle woman who had passed out, it didn't exactly help their case. Snape came back with some berries and fruits of the forest. He took out his wand in order to multiply them and make them bigger. Draco gladly took some he offered and they began to eat in silence, each lost in their own world of doubts and fears. Once they finished, the young adult asked, "What are we going to do, sir? We cannot hide in here forever eating berries…"

The black-haired wizard sighed and, after giving it some thought, he replied in his silky voice, "I honestly don't know, Draco… We need to think of a safe place to hide, if that even exists, not only for us, but for Angelica… They have seen her, so she can be a target, not to mention that she is muggle, and a pregnant one at that… She isn't a priority for them, but they wouldn't hesitate to kill her may the occasion arise."

Malfoy didn't have time to convey his thoughts and answer his godfather as Wilson began to stir. She opened her hazel eyes, looking at them both.

"What happe-," flashes of what had occurred at her home came to her mind, so she stopped mid-sentence and groaned.

"I fainted, didn't I?"

When both nodded at her, she let out a groggy sigh of tiredness and wondered, "How long have I been out?"

"Four hours," came the short answer from the former spy.

The woman took it better than expected, since she didn't cause a scene or become hysterical. Snape interpreted it as a good sign to proceed, therefore, he offered her some of the berries they had left over and added, "We have just eaten something… Here, have some."

Wilson accepted the fruit, but didn't eat it yet, as suspicion invaded her mind, especially when she took in the appearance of said fruits plus the shelter. Raising an eyebrow, she inquired, "Gigantic berries? Where exactly are we?"

"Good question," replied the young adult sarcastically, eyeing his godfather, clearly eager to listen to his answer.

"In the woods, in the southern area of Scotland…"

"Why here?"

"Because there's nothing in here. It'll be more difficult for them to find us."

Angelica groaned in frustration. Severus understood the gesture wrong, as if she was complaining, filling his veins with insulted and angry feelings.

"I saved your life! A little gratitude would be appreciated!"

The moment Malfoy heard him squawking those words at Wilson he knew that the discussion would not end well, just like 80% of the time those two talked: it always turned into an endless bickering of sass and yells. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to leave them to their little quarrel, but he was aware that it would only madden his godfather even more. Hence, he wisely decided to stay, not really ready to listen to their dispute.

Angelica snorted at Severus in response, retorting, "I'd say we are even. I don't recall you thanking me. I  _saved your life_  only for you to ruin mine! Now they are looking for me too! I have walked right into the trap! I made a stupid mistake by helping you two, and because of it my sons will pay! They will be in danger!"

Wilson was a woman who prattled a lot, usually when she was annoyed, which to Snape and Malfoy's dismay, happened quite frequently. She had always acted reserved in front of them, like she had a mask, and even though they had lived with her, they knew close to nothing about her life: there was no album of photographs or anything that could reveal something about her. It gave the impression that she wanted to hide. So when, by the finale lines of her ramble, her voice quivered and the beginnings of some tears could be spotted in her hazel eyes, Draco and Severus were taken aback.

"I've ruined their lives and they aren't even born yet…" she repeated in a defeated tone, finally letting a tear stream down her cheek. "What kind of mother will I be? What kind of mother am I?"

The moment she realized she was weeping, she quickly buried her face behind her hands and tried to compose herself. Both wizards were at loss. They had no idea how to proceed. After all, they had never seen her acting so vulnerable or displaying such an emotional outburst. Startling them, the woman let out a sudden bittersweet chuckle. She uncovered her now dry face and mumbled, "I should have known better… I never learn. Your people bring nothing but disgrace. I was aware of it and I still chose to help you two. I'm an idiot."

There was an awkward long silence which was broken, not so unexpectedly, by the muggle.

"How the hell did we get to Scotland? What was that sick feeling in my stomach?"

They really weren't surprised by the change of topic, since she had her mask back on.

"You mean you don't know? I thought you knew what we were…" countered back the youngster.

She arched an eyebrow and replied, "I know that your kind bring misery. What I can't understand is how we got here… I remember being at home holding my gun, feeling sick, and literally appearing in the woods in a matter of seconds. That's impossible though… So how did we appear in the woods? And what was that about  _apparating_  and  _muggle_?"

Snape's pupils dilated when he realized the woman didn't know a thing about magic. He turned his head to face his godson, who was looking at him with wide eyes. His expression was everything Snape needed to comprehend that his godson had reached the same conclusion.

"Sir, should we obliviate her?"

"No! You don't get to make me forget! I demand an explanation, once and for all!" she screamed with big frightened, yet wild eyes, losing her neutral attitude, before Severus had time to open his mouth and answer the boy.

Snape and Malfoy were more confused as the conversation kept going. Their assumption had been wrong, apparently. Even so, there was something off: she was familiar with the forgetfulness charm, yet she didn't know what a muggle was? It made no sense, at all.

"I expect an answer today!" she urged, snapping them out of their puzzlement.

"You'll get a response when you tell us what exactly you know about  _our kind_ , as you put it," Severus retorted sternly.

They still weren't aware of what her knowledge was, and the former Hogwarts Professor wasn't willing to reveal everything to her, preferring to play it safe. All they knew for sure until that moment was that she had seen the Dark Mark before and that she recognized the memory charm. Nothing more, nothing less.

She scoffed and muttered, "Why should I tell you anything? I was the first to ask and I have the right to know. You owe me. You stayed at home, I healed you, I cooked for you, I did  _everything_ for you and let me remind you that you aren't my responsibility! It's the least you could do, to let me know what apparating and muggle are, don't you think?"

"We won't tell you anything until you answer me. What. Do. You. Know. About. Our. Kind?"

Malfoy noticed the tension in the adults' eyes, hazel and black, so different in color, yet, so similar in expression, so ferocious. Both held their gaze, neither of them flinched. It felt like an eternity until Snape made to leave and said, "Suit yourself."

When Angelica realized he was being serious, she swallowed her pride and screeched, "Wait! I really need answers. I've been living in the shadows for too many years, always trying to make myself believe that what I saw was my mind playing tricks! It was easier to believe that than to face the truth! And then you two came into my life and it felt like I was living the same nightmare again. Everything I had buried came back to life! I felt like I had been slapped! I was scared! I AM scared!"

Draco was observing his godfather's reactions. At first he had a victorious smirk on his face when he realized that the woman was begging him, but when she began to cry once again his thin lips dissolved the sneer and his opal pools softened ever so slightly. He knew that Snape was curious to know her story, to solve the mystery of Angelica Wilson, the only woman who got to his nerves. He could see that Severus was intrigued by her, and Draco didn't know what to make of it.

"Tell me," his silky baritone voice demanded. It had not been as harsh as before. One could notice he had made an effort to be gentle with her, but Wilson kept shaking her head in denial.

"It's… It's too personal. I…" she gulped before continuing, "It's been a long time since I last talked about what happened that night…" The tears were running freely down her face now, and she tried to dry them to no avail. "If I tell you, if I open up to you, you have to promise me you will answer all my doubts and protect me and my twins from them," she let out a sob before begging, "Please. You saved me before; you can do it again…"

She was looking at Snape with her big striking hazel eyes, wet and reddened from all the crying. The tears made her orbs shine, and her golden sparks were more visible than ever. Severus felt his heart stop beating at the sight. He had never thought that a person could look beautiful when crying. Sure, other men would say that Angelica was a woman of average looks, yet those eyes were special. Severus didn't know why they made him feel like this, but he just couldn't deny her anything while she kept pleading with her gilded hazel seas. She had been right; after all, he wouldn't be breathing if it wasn't for her. He owed her, so before he could regret it, he gave her a nod, as a silent promise that he'd answer her questions and protect them.

 


	6. Chapter 6

The moment Snape nodded at Angelica the woman let out a sigh she had no idea she had been holding. She was relieved that he had promised to protect her and her unborn children. It didn't mean she was calm though; quite the contrary, she was feeling extremely edgy. After all, she was about to reveal to this man and his godson something which she hadn't really discussed with anybody for a long time. Actually, she had struggled to erase the memory from her mind for years, although it had been in vain. The events from that night always flooded her dreams at night, turning them into cruel nightmares.

Draco's eyes were expecting and inciting her to retell the story she had been avoiding since the moment she saw the Dark Mark on his arm. Severus masked it better, but inside, he was just as thrilled as the blond boy to hear her version of events and finally solve the mystery of the only woman who had puzzled him.

Angelica inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she didn't seem to stare at the wizards. It seemed as if she was in her own world, prisoner of her memories. Her voice filled the tent while flashes came through her mind.

* * *

 

_A teenager with unmistakable hazel with golden speckled eyes was sitting on a sofa of a muggle living room. She was absorbed in reading a book, while a man of color and a blonde woman with thick-eye-lashes and hazel eyes as bright as the girl's watched TV. It appeared to be a common day in the life of Angelica Wilson, but little did she know that instead of going to sleep after finishing the chapter and wishing her parents a goodnight, she'd live the worst episode of her history._

_The nightly family peace was smashed by crazy shrieks. Various people were screaming at the same time, making their words nearly unintelligible. Angelica had the impression they didn't speak the same language. Nonetheless, the Wilsons were able to distinguish the phrase 'filthy muggle' repeatedly. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson exchanged looks of understanding and utter fear. Without wasting any time, they told their daughter to hide in the cupboard in their bedroom. The young Angelica began to panic and shoot a million questions which were left unanswered, since her mother quickly ordered her to shut up and obey. The teenager glanced at her father, looking for his support, but she found none. She had never seen such a hopeless look on her parents' faces. Whatever was about to happen was no joke and Angelica could do nothing but fulfill her mother's wishes with a heavy heart and an anxious soul. Just as she gulped and closed the cupboard door, a strong thud resonated across the apartment, followed closely by the screeches from earlier. Now though, the youngster was able to hear each word clearly, even though most of them held no real meaning for the girl. In spite of it, she could tell by the tone displayed that they sustained a negative connotation._

" _You! Pathetic squib!"_

" _Leave my wife alone!" Mr. Wilson threatened._

" _You are a filthy muggle! Do you really think you can stop us?" an unknown voice sneered._

" _Shut up and leave! I never wanted to see you again!" Mrs. Wilson replied angrily._

_The defenseless cries of her parents and the fact that she could do nothing to stop this awful situation made Angelica's knees tremble in fear._

" _You are a Rosier!"_

" _No! I am a Wilson! You never really wanted me because I wasn't like you! I couldn't do magic!"_

_Magic? What was her mother referring to? She had no time to ponder it, since more voices squawked at the same time, "A Rosier marrying a bloody muggle! You brought dishonor to our family name!" "A shame! You are a shame!" "You'll pay for it, useless squib!"_

_It felt like an eternity before somebody muttered more indecipherable words, "Avada kedavra!"_

_And then, the world stopped. For a few seconds Angelica heard nothing but the sound of silence. Then, a wrecking sob that pierced her soul escaped her father, "No! No, Ella, come on! Breathe, breathe for me!"_

_The young Wilson covered her mouth and tried to suppress a horrified gasp as helpless tears slid past her cheeks. Her heart stopped beating. Her hands began to sweat. Air didn't fill her lungs. She wanted to go to her father, but something told her that her mother wouldn't have wanted that, that she'd only be exposing herself to peril. She shut her eyes and sang repeatedly in her head 'wake up, come on,' aching desperately that this was a nightmare, a false and ghastly illusion. When her hazel eyes opened once again, she heard someone muttering 'Obliviate'._

_Silence. She held her breath and prayed to God that they'd leave. A whole minute passed before Mr. Wilson opened the cupboard door. He was standing with a lost and apologetic look on his face. His whole body was shuddering and there was a lump in his throat. Angelica dismissed his uneasiness and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close while she inquired in a quivering voice, "What's happened to mom? Who were they? I'm scared…"_

" _I killed her…"_

_Angelica felt her heart breaking into pieces. She pulled away and stared him deeply in the eyes, seeking for something, anything that proved he was wrong._

" _I killed her," he repeated._

" _No…" she huffed in disbelief._

_When she saw his devastated dark eyes, the girl felt her world crashing down… Angelica rushed to the living room, only to find the corpse of her mother. She let out a painful cry as her eyes went wide. The teenager was shocked, but she still couldn't believe that her father would do something like this. She made her way to the balcony clumsily, hoping to see the people who had broken into their home. The young Wilson was sure it was their doing, but when she got out, there was no sight of them. Something caught her eye though. In the dark of the night sky, there was a greenish foggy mark representing a skull and snake. The image made her shake in apprehensiveness. When she turned around and went back to the living room, she saw her father calling the police and confessing the crime. That was the moment her brain registered that her world had turned upside down. She fell on her knees as sobs wracked her body._

* * *

 

"My father went to prison. I was alone. The few times they let me talk to him, we were always under vigilance. I tried to make him remember, to repeat to him the words I didn't understand, to remind him some people broke into our home… But it was worthless. He claimed that nobody came into our home and that he had killed her. It was as if those people had somehow wiped away his memory. When I tried to tell the lawyers what I heard and saw, they warned me not to say anything or they'd make me join a madhouse. It was hard. Not even my father supported my version of events. No one did. For a long time, I thought my mind was playing tricks with me. I thought I was paranoid. There was nothing fifteen-year-old me could do… My father insisted he had killed my mother, so they made no more questions. But her corpse… The forensic examination couldn't find a cause of her death. She simply stopped living. How is that possible? It made no sense. Yet, when this was known, they managed to cover it up. What mattered the most for them was that someone paid for the crime, and my father was willing. They ignored the inexplicable and threw him in jail. I will always believe that he was innocent, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I'm going crazy… That's why I tried to forget… It doesn't matter anymore though… My father is gone now."

Her speech had been intense to say the least. She had managed to conceal the tears from falling all this time, but her voice had quaked on various points, displaying a vulnerability she had only started showing today.

Both wizards were left speechless. Now they understood her fear. Now they knew that she really didn't know about wizards and witches. She had only suffered the disgrace of a family member loss due to the actions of some Death Eaters, as well as the torment she probably had to endure years later regarding her father's innocence. They imagined by her description that her mother's death was caused by the killing curse, and that the Death Eaters had managed to alter Mr. Wilson's memories in order to incriminate him.

Draco recalled the moment he confessed his mother was probably dead and his father was in prison. That was the moment Angelica's attitude towards him had changed. It made perfect sense now. Somehow, they had gone through similar events (the loss of a mother and the imprisonment of a father). She must have seen herself mirrored in him.

"Do you know why Death Eaters came to your apartment, in the first place?" Snape asked.

"Death Eaters?"

"Those people."

She shook her head and replied, "They kept screaming something about squib, muggle and bringing shame to the Rosier family… It seemed like a vengeance."

"Wait, you said Rosier?" intervened Draco with wide eyes.

The woman gave a swift nod and Malfoy questioned on impulse, "What are your parents' names?"

"Joshua Wilson and Ella Wilson, née Bennett…"

Severus tried to remember any Ella Bennett, but nobody came to his mind. Fortunately, his godson seemed to recognize the name.

"I think I might know who she is," whispered the boy, staring deeply at the pregnant woman and recalling a story her mother had once told.

Wilson's eyes narrowed and urged the boy to reveal what he had heard about her mother. Severus appeared to be just as curious and impatient, for he snarled, "Well, are you going to enlighten us today, or do we need to wait until Angelica gives birth?"

Clearing his throat and with slightly flushed cheeks, Malfoy explained, "My mother confessed a family secret once. She said that she had a half-sister. Back when my grandmother was still a Rosier, she had an affair with a…" he trailed off. It wasn't something his family had been pleased with and he couldn't shake the shame it created on him. He swallowed his pride and continued, "with a muggle."

Saying that Severus was stunned was a huge understatement. The Rosiers had always been blood supremacists, after all. There was not a single member who hadn't joined the Death Eaters. The possibility that a Rosier would ever have an affair with a muggle was unimaginable. At least, that was the impression they left in people. Impressions aren't always trustful though.

"Will somebody be so kind to tell me what is a muggle already?" wondered Angelica impatiently as she rolled her eyes, interrupting the Potions Master's thoughts.

Severus sighed and answered, "A muggle is someone who is born to two non-magical parents and is incapable of performing magic."

Magic. Her mother had screamed that they never wanted her because she couldn't do magic. Any other person would have laughed straight at their faces, but she knew better. She still couldn't explain her mother's death. She still couldn't explain her father's memory loss. For God's sake! She still couldn't explain how the hell she arrived in a matter of seconds to Scotland.

"Do you mean that you possess magic?"

Snape and Malfoy nodded, synchronized, and Wilson let out a snort. "So what are you? Magicians?"

"The correct term is wizard," replied the former Potions Professor sternly.

"So apparating is a magic means of transport?"

"More or less."

"And a squib?"

"A squib is someone who is born to at least one magical parent and yet, he or she is incapable of performing magic."

Wilson frowned. Those people, Death Eaters as Snape said, had called her mother squib. Was that why they had attacked her family? Her thoughts were disrupted by the familiar silky voice which instructed the boy to continue with the tale.

"As I was saying, my grandmother had an affair with a muggle. The proof of said relationship was a baby named Ella. The moment they realized she was a squib, my grandmother abandoned her and married my grandfather. Before my grandmother died, she confessed everything to my mother and aunts. She even showed them a muggle photograph of the baby she had always secretly cherished, despite her non-existent magic."

"So you are implying that Ella Bennett is actually Druella's daughter?" his godfather questioned.

"That's my theory. You said that those Death Eaters repeated the words of bringing shame to the Rosier name… It makes complete sense."

"They called my mother a pathetic squib that had married a muggle and brought dishonor to the Rosiers…" she mumbled more to herself than to the wizards.

This turn of events was certainly unexpected, to say the least. They all fell silence, letting the news sink in and pondering the situation. The first to break the silent atmosphere was Severus.

"Draco, if you are in the right track, it means that you and Angelica are related. You two are-"

"Cousins," finished the blond teenager.

The truth was that he didn't know how to feel about that, and neither did Wilson.

* * *

 

Draco and Angelica's relationship hadn't developed much. The circumstances were unsettling for both of them. Malfoy had grown up feeling superior to muggles, even despising them, only to find out that this muggle woman was his cousin. He knew it could have been worse, since at least, he had learnt to respect Wilson. After all, he wouldn't be alive if she hadn't saved him and his godfather. Even so, respecting the woman and actually considering her family were very different things. Oppositely, Angelica had lost her family when she was fifteen. She had to grow up way too fast, alone in a hostile world that treated her like she was insane. The shock of finding out there was still family out there hadn't really crossed her mind since her father had died in prison, so she didn't know how to react. On the one hand, she felt blessed. She had missed her family. The thought that she could have a new one and that there were more people who shared her blood, filled her heart with joy. On the other hand, she had got used to solitude, to working hard to achieve her goals, to relying only on herself and to trusting nobody. She wasn't ready to lean on somebody else, at least, not for the time being. Also, she hadn't forgotten that it was because of wizards and witches in the first place, that her world was turned upside down. Knowing that her cousin was one of their kind didn't make things easier.

The pregnant muggle had many doubts sailing through the layers of her mind. She was afraid of the answers she might get, so she had kept them all to herself. However, after spending two weeks hidden in the woods, she felt like she would explode if she kept speculating endlessly. Swallowing her insecurity, she decided to finally ask Draco and Severus what had been bothering her.

"I don't understand something," she began, making Snape raise an eyebrow at her while Malfoy stopped eating the last berries and focused his attention on her. "That mark… The skull with the snake. It's a Death Eater symbol, isn't it?"

Her cousin gave her a nod.

"OK. And what do Death Eaters do? Are they a group of wizards? Is it a sect? Why do you have the mark tattooed? Whatever happened for them to chase you down?"

They both felt like she had bombed them with too many questions at once. Malfoy had no idea how to proceed, but luckily, his godfather quenched her thirst for knowledge.

"Death Eaters are the followers of He-who-must-not-be-named, a powerful and dangerous dark wizard. They hate everything muggle related and are blood supremacists who practice the Dark Arts…" Angelica didn't really know what the Dark Arts or blood supremacy were, but she had an idea of what it could mean and it was quite nasty. "All Death Eaters are marked."

"So you are one of his followers…" she ended bitterly. "And let me guess," she fixed her eyes on the young adult and, recalling the explanations Malfoy had given her while she pointed her knife at him, she continued, "You did something that made him mad and he decided to kill you, but your godfather came to the rescue and now you two are in a mess for betraying this dangerous wizard."

The silent response of the wizards was answer enough to let her know that she was spot-on. She snorted and added with sarcasm, "Figures. It must have been awful to live with a muggle woman…"

"I am no blood supremacist. You know nothing about me," stated Severus coolly, locking his coal eyes with her hazel ones. There was an underlying fury in his dark eyes, which had somehow turned a shade darker, if that was even possible.

Neither of them shrank back nor let their guard down. Draco imagined that this conversation would soon turn into one of their little quarrels. It wasn't the occasion though, for suddenly, the woman let out a shocked gasp.

Her water broke. She was about to become a mother.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Shock. That was everything Malfoy, Snape and Wilson felt when her water broke. Panic. That was the emotion which mixed with the previous jolt, leaving them at loss. Luckily, Angelica reacted.

"I cannot give birth in here! I need to go to a hospital!"

It took Severus a few moments before he made up his mind and apparated the three of them near a muggle hospital. He transfigured their wizarding clothes into muggle ones in order to go unnoticed and conceded, "There's a hospital five minutes from here. I'm sorry, but we'll have to walk. We cannot simply apparate in front of muggles."

The mulatto woman groaned in stress, "Fucking wizards! Why did I have to stumble with you of all people!"

She was poking his chest to emphasize her point and her lips were pressed thin in annoyance.

"Dammit, Angelica! There is no time for your frenzied tantrums now! You are in labor!"

"I don't need you to remind me! It's me who has to deal with it, not you!"

"Well, I think that taking into account that you are stuck with us now, I can affirm without a sense of qualm that we have to deal with it too!"

Draco could already picture in his mind the two adults bickering non-stop in the middle of nowhere, just five minutes from the medical center, until his cousin actually gave birth. He had to do something. Before he could regret it, the words had slipped from his mouth.

"Stop it! Just shut up! Both of you! It's not the time to have one of your endless bitter and childish exchanges of snarky remarks! We need to get to the hospital! Now!"

His unexpected intervention did the trick, for both adults quietened down instantly. Draco figured that this response was purely out of shock, but he was glad it had resulted in the desired outcome. Angelica huffed and started to walk with some difficulty towards the building she could see from afar. Severus gulped and followed her, Draco close behind him. They caught up with the muggle soon enough and joined her side silently. Wilson stopped abruptly and inhaled sharply as she squatted down, her hands on her voluptuous womb. She shut her eyes and tried to fight the cry that was threatening to escape her throat.

"Angelica!" yelped the youngster as he kneeled down next to her. "Are you, OK?"

Wilson gulped and exhaled slowly. After what felt like an eternity, she nodded and muttered under her breath, "Fucking contractions!"

"Can you walk?" wondered Snape.

Angelica got up with Draco's help and gave him a nod. Fortunately, she didn't have another contraction until she was already in front of a nurse. She took her to a room and laid her in bed. Severus and Draco followed them, but the nurse hindered them before they could actually enter.

"Only family members can come in."

"I am her cousin!" cried out the boy immediately.

He didn't trust those muggles one bit. He wanted to be there, just to make sure she was OK. Well, it wasn't like they were really close or anything, but they were still family.

The nurse raised an eyebrow skeptically and scoffed, "Sure, because you look so alike… I've been working here for years, lad. You two aren't related."

"He is my cousin, indeed," intervened Angelica, who was overhearing the conversation. She seemed to have trouble breathing, but her voice had been confident.

The nurse sighed and finally said, "You must authorize his presence then."

Angelica wondered if that was for the best. Did she really want this teenager by her side while she gave birth? She had disposed of nine months to become aware that she would be alone at that special moment of her life. She had accepted it. However, the moment she locked her hazel eyes with his grey ones, a memory of two nights ago flashed to her mind…

* * *

 

_Angelica had gotten out of the tent. She couldn't catch sleep as thoughts about how uncertain the future she would provide to her sons plagued her mind. She could hear some owls hooting. The stars sparkled against the darkness of the night. Their sheen wasn't enough to make out the trees of the forest, but somehow she didn't care. Her gaze was fixed on the full moon. That was all she needed, that was the most soothing sight. Suddenly, a noise disturbed her peace. With a start, she turned around and roared in an intimidating tone, "Who's there?"_

" _Blimey! Do you have to be so aggressive?"_

_She recognized the voice instantly: Draco Malfoy, her out of the blue cousin. Angelica disregarded his somehow offensive comment and asked, "What are you doing here? You should be inside."_

" _So should you," he retorted._

" _I asked first."_

" _I couldn't sleep."_

" _Me neither…" the woman muttered more to herself than to him. She raised an eyebrow and questioned, "What's keeping you awake?"_

" _It's just a stupid nightmare. I needed fresh air," he replied after some hesitation. The boy thanked Merlin it was dark enough for his blush of embarrassment to go unnoticed._

_There was a short pause until she proposed, "Do you want to tell me about it? It may help…"_

_Malfoy gulped and stared at the ground, but images of what he had dreamt still haunted him. She seemed to be willing to listen, and he knew he needed disclosure._

" _It wasn't just a nightmare. It was a memory. My mother…"_

_He trailed off, but Angelica had gathered what memory he was referring to. She had the impulse to hug him tight, but she wasn't sure of what his reaction would be. Instead, she chose the safe path and squeezed his shoulder, trying to offer him solace._

" _I know what it feels like, Draco. If you ever need to talk about it, you can count on me, OK? Even if we are still getting to know each other, we are family."_

_The wizard was stunned by her words, nonetheless he smiled in appreciation. All of sudden, she gasped and a soft giggle escaped her throat. '_ What was wrong with this woman?' _thought Draco,_  'First, she offers comfort and now she's laughing _.' He had never seen this facade of hers. Despite the lack of light, the muggle must have intuited that he was furrowing his brow in confusion, for she gushed, "The babies, they are moving. Do you want to feel them?"_

_Before he could mutter a response, Angelica had grabbed his hand and put it on her belly. They waited for some seconds until Draco felt a kick, making him giggle too._

" _No wonder you couldn't sleep. When are they due?"_

" _Soon. It could be right now…"_

_His eyes widened in fear and Angelica chuckled. "Don't worry, I think they still want to be inside me…"_

* * *

 

Well, now the babies wanted to get out and this boy looked like he really wanted to be there for her.

"He may stay."

Draco made to enter, but halted and looked at his godfather. "He can stay too, can't he?"

Nobody knew to whom this question was directed: Severus, Angelica or the nurse. Anyway, the old woman repeated bored, "He must be family and she must authorize it."

At first, Angelica looked at Draco. The woman imagined that he would probably faint if there wasn't someone else he knew among so many muggles. Her hazel eyes turned to Snape. He was eyeing her intently, yet his expression was emotionless. Did he want to be there? More important even, did she want him to be there? Angelica wasn't sure, but as she felt another contraction building inside her, she blurted out, "He's my husband! He better stays with me through this or I will kill him as soon as I can stand!"

Malfoy smirked amused and glimpsed at his godfather. His pupils had dilated and he sucked in a brief intake of breath. Had Angelica just lied so that he could stay with her? Apparently. Damn this woman, now he had to play the part.

"Why hasn't he said anything until now then?" inquired the nurse, looking at them distrustfully.

"You know how men are. He is still in shock."

"Very well then."

* * *

 

Five hours, five exhausting hours of screams and pain. That was how long it took the babies to come out. Wilson was happy that both wizards had stayed. Their presence had tranquilized her somehow. Angelica had taken Severus's hand when she thought she couldn't take the pain anymore. The black-haired wizard would have never presumed that she had such strength. For a moment, he thought that she'd break his fingers because of the strong grip. Snape was cursing himself. Why did he get in this mess? Malfoy, on the other hand, had been tempted to leave the room when Angelica shrieked so agonizingly. He had felt dizzy. Hearing the cries of the babies had been liberating for the three of them. Angelica sighed and smiled tiredly the moment the matron brought the twin babies dressed up. She indicated her how to hold them and Wilson instantly learnt it. It seemed to come naturally to her. The baby from the left had a birth mark on the crook of his neck, which made it easier for everyone to distinguish them. After all, they looked the same: their skin was still pinkish and their eyes were of a dark blue color, there was the beginnings of some brown curly hair on their heads and they had inherited their mother's nose.

"How am I supposed to breast-feed them?"

The matron smiled kindly and explained everything to her. "At first you'll find the position uncomfortable, but you'll get used to it. It is the best for the three of you."

The woman left the room quietly as Angelica fed her children for the first time. There was a goofy grin she couldn't erase for anything in the world. Severus felt like an intruder. He had already doubted that staying by her side during labor was a good idea, but this was crossing the line. He gazed at the floor and slightly blushed while the woman exposed her breasts, not caring that the wizards were there. Draco simply looked away, following his godfather's actions. This was a pretty intimate moment and they felt awkward just standing there. A few minutes later, cries invaded the room.

"Oh no! Don't cry! Please! I am new at this, please, don't hate me! I love you so much and I can't stand to see you like this!" she pleaded, at a loss of what to do. She had just breast-fed them, after all. What else could they need?

Anybody else would have laughed at the situation, but Malfoy and Snape were just as lost as Wilson, even more. Thankfully, something came to her mind. She began to hum a sweet melody. When she noticed that their cries were subsiding, she smirked for a second before returning to the task at hand. Angelica grew more confident, and now she was fully singing while rocking them at the same time. Malfoy had never heard the song before, but Snape was familiar with it.

_Someday I'll wish upon a star_  
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
Where trouble melts like lemon drops  
High above the chimney top  
That's where you'll find me

Severus stared at them. They looked so… perfect. That was the word. When he noticed her glistening eyes and her pure smile, Severus found himself feeling drawn to her. Her voice wasn't that good, but somehow, it didn't matter. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever witnessed in his life. Draco had a soft smile on his features too.

The mother let her sons sleep in their little cribs.

"Have you named them?" wondered Malfoy.

"Yes. The old one, the one of the birth mark, is Ezra Joshua Wilson. His brother is Samuel Davion Wilson…"

"Joshua was your father, right? You named him after him…" observed the boy.

"Yes. And Davion was my grandfather."

So Davion Bennet had been the muggle that had gotten his grandmother pregnant. Now he knew. Malfoy directed his gaze to the newborns and he stepped forward to take a better look at them.

"Why did you want me here?" asked Snape, now that his godson was distracted.

The woman smiled sadly and confessed, "I had accepted that I would be alone when I gave birth… But I hadn't counted on an unexpected cousin and his godfather to walk into my life. I just didn't want to do this alone anymore. Draco is my only family right now, well, he and my sons, but at that moment I just knew that I only felt pain and that I wanted him there…"

"That was a meager attempt to avoid my question. Now, may I know why you wanted  _me_  here? Why did you say I was your husband?"

She sighed and said as her eyes began to close, "I don't know… I guess that since you promised to protect me and my children, I assumed that you would also help me if something went wrong during labor… I felt safer. I didn't know what else to say for the nurse to let you in. I couldn't precisely tell her that you were my brother… We look nothing alike and she had already suspected of Draco… Pretending you were my husband was the only feasible option that came to my mind…"

He couldn't see her hazel orbs now, and her chest was rising and falling in a regular rhythm. She had fallen asleep.

* * *

 

There had been something that had been perplexing Severus and Draco since the moment they knew about her terrible experience with Death Eaters. It had been the blond boy, the one to ask her during breakfast, endeavoring to have a casual conversation about it even though the topic was delicate to say the least.

"Why did you help us when you met us?"

"Excuse me?" she croaked, forgetting about the food. "There was a half-dead man in front of my apartment. What was I supposed to do? Let him bleed to death?"

"No. I mean that you still helped us out when you recognized the Dark Mark… After everything you went through, why would you assist us?"

"I didn't want to, at first… But I… When I knew that your father was in prison and that your mother was probably dead, I just couldn't… I had to help you."

A silent atmosphere swept over them, which was broken by little Samuel. He was wailing and as expected, his twin brother was rubbed off by his attitude. Angelica tried to calm them down by cradling them at the same time, but her non-existent experience didn't make things better.

"Dammit! Please, take one of them! I can't cope with two crying babies right now…"

She was supplicating at Severus, who snorted and said in a monotone tone, "I'm not their father. I'm not holding any of them."

"What? Why? Being related to the babies isn't a requirement to hold them! I am a new mother and a single one at that! And not only that, I had two babies in a roll. I'm in need of assistance! You promised you'd help me!"

"Correction. I promised I'd  _protect_  you. They are different things."

The cries of the babies were getting louder and Angelica was losing her patience.

"Just take one!"

"Draco would do a better job."

"Draco isn't here!"

It was true. He had gone to the loo the moment he noticed that an uncomfortable silence would follow. Before he could object farther, she laid Samuel caringly on the bed and made to hand Ezra to the snarky man. When he felt the baby getting close to him, Severus put his hands securely behind his back.

"Merlin, woman! I. won't. hold him!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I will probably hurt him or he will fall or something! I don't know how to do it! I'm not good with kids!"

She looked at his deep eyes for a moment, only to see vulnerability there. Angelica's eyes softened for a second before she carefully moved his hands and put them in the right angle to cradle the baby. She had been so gentle that Snape had been too shocked to deny her wishes. She tried to give him a reassuring smile and deposited little Ezra on his arms. Severus lost his breath. He had never held a newborn. He hadn't even held Draco when he was so little. Ezra already looked petite in Wilson's arms, but he sure looked even tinier in Snape's grip. Angelica kissed the baby's forehead and whispered, "Please, Ezra, be good for mommy and stop crying…" She glanced at Snape and added, "I know this  _cranky_  man seems dangerous, but really, he would do nothing to harm you… You are safe and sound with him."

There was a twinkle in her hazel eyes that made her golden bits more noticeable as she teased the man. Severus was out of breath for the second time in the same minute. Merlin help him.

Then Angelica took Samuel and began to rock him.

"That's way easier," she breathed out relieved.

She glanced at Snape, who was frozen in the same position she had left him. Wilson suppressed a chortle and told him, "Move your arms like this…"

Snape had never felt so exposed, except when this muggle tended to his wounds, perhaps. Sighing, he gauchely followed her rhythm and soon, the room was filled with silence again. Severus fought a smile when little Ezra hushed in his arms.

"Those are my sons! Well behaved! Mama is proud of you!"

Then she kissed Samuel's cheek and put him in the crib, indicating with her head that Snape ought to do the same with Ezra. Severus did just that and watched as the two brothers seemed to hold hands. Angelica's eyes were tearful and she was grinning from ear to ear. This time, Severus also simpered unconsciously at the scene. Angelica's hand somehow found Snape's. At first, he stiffened at her touch and was tempted to push her away, but when she intertwined their fingers he let her be. He didn't want to ruin that magical moment for her. Besides, he quite liked the tingling sensation that had travelled through his body at the physical contact.

"I wish I could take a picture…"

Severus pondered the situation and transfigured the flowers the hospital had given to congratulate the new mother into a muggle camera. Angelica let out a disbelieving giggle and threw her arms around him, not really thinking through her actions. Severus stopped breathing once again. His heart was pounding so strongly he was afraid Angelica would perceive it. A hug. It had been years since someone had hugged him. In fact, he couldn't remember anyone but Lily who had ever done so, and little Draco, of course. He didn't reciprocate; nay he stood awkwardly, holding the camera with one hand. That was the moment Malfoy decided to come back. His grey eyes went wide. Severus felt the heat rising to his cheeks and pulled the woman away more brusquely than intended, even though she didn't appear to mind it. He suddenly felt cold.

"Look, Draco! They are holding hands!" Angelica exclaimed with a lovely smile as she took the photo.

Her enthusiasm was cut short when Snape voiced, "We cannot stay in the middle of the forest with two newborns. We need a home, somewhere we can get supplies from."

"And what do you suggest? It's not like we can go to your house or to my manor!" Draco reminded to his godfather.

"No. But somebody can help us," he whispered with a mischievous smirk.

"Who?"

"Your aunt."

 


	8. Chapter 8

"Come again? You said you had no family, if we discount the psychopath you have for an aunt, that is… And now another aunt appears out of the blue?" Angelica asked Draco, losing the blissful attitude she had displayed since she had become a mother.

The young slytherin looked thunderstruck for a second, unsure of how to answer. "I have never met her. My mother and my aunt had a non-existent relationship since she married a muggleborn."

Wilson's nose wrinkled in disgust as she quipped, "Why doesn't that surprise me?" There was a short pause. When the woman deduced she wouldn't get a response, she asked Snape, "What makes you think she will assist us?"

Draco was also curious to know the reason, it was clear by the way he raised an eyebrow.

"Andromeda has a good heart. She will not leave you shelter-less, not when she finds out who you are, and even less when she sees the children," Severus spoke slowly.

"And what about you and I?" demanded Malfoy, "She doesn't have a reason to help us, quite the contrary, in fact."

Snape's eyes twinkled mischievously as a smug smirk developed on his bow-shaped lips. "Why? I was waiting for that question… Angelica is going to be my wife and of course, she'll have a soft spot for her cousin. Andromeda will not have it in her to abandon our  _dear_  family…"

The muggle didn't miss the way he stressed the word  _dear_. Snape wasn't even trying to dissimulate his diversion upon seeing her so heated up. Angelica could bet that he was doing all this as a vengeance for making him stay through her labor and pretend to be her spouse. It made her blood boil.

"Are you kidding me? It's one thing pretending to be your wife for a few days in a hospital in front of random people. A very different one is pretending to be your wife for only God knows how long in front of my aunt! Besides, I thought you didn't like it when I called you husband! Why would you suggest it?" Wilson's eyes narrowed, fire seemed to have invaded them. Now, that was the Angelica they had met: impatient and feverish.

The muggle's annoyance only fed Snape's amusement, who couldn't resist joshing, "I don't know why you are so against it,  _darling_. You were the one who gave me the idea, after all… You don't want our children to never meet their family, do you now?"

The sneer on his face exasperated Angelica, who could only grunt. Yes, getting under her skin had become Snape's favorite pastime. Draco didn't care as long as everything went as planned.

* * *

 

Andromeda Tonks heard a knock. She frowned. She knew that Remus and Nymphadora wouldn't be home until late, after all, there was an Order meeting today. Her assumption was that it must have ended sooner than expected. Anyway, why the hell wouldn't Dora and Remus use the floo network? Before she could mull more over it, the door opened. There stood a boy who looked remarkably like Lucius Malfoy, his son, she guessed. He was holding a baby in his arms, something which took her aback. Beside him, there was a mulatto woman of afro hair and striking eyes, also clasping a newborn. Those eyes… She had seen them before, but she couldn't quite tell where. Andromeda shook her head as if trying to disregard it and set her gaze on a pair of dark orbs.

"Snape," was all she said.

"Hello, Tonks."

Andromeda stood quietly in the doorway. She didn't know what to think, even less how to react. An awkward environment was swiftly developing around them. Luckily, Draco spoke, somehow chipping the uncomfortableness, "I am exactly who you think I am, but please, let us come in, let us explain. If you want us out of your home afterwards, then we will not offer resistance."

The slytherin witch seemed to snap out of her daze at his words and demanded in a cold tone, "Why should I help you out?"

"Because you are my aunt."

Angelica's blunt answer disconcerted the Black sister. She glanced at the muggle, looking for any sign of deception. She spotted her eyes again, so familiar, yet so unknown. Where had she seen them before? Could it be that she was telling the truth. Trusting her gut and not really knowing whether she'd regret it, she let them enter and guided them towards the living room. She asked them to take a seat and stared at the five of them with her arms crossed, clearly expecting them to talk.

"Thanks for letting us come in. I am Angelica. These two are Ezra and Samuel. I know that you and my husband have already met, but that you've never seen your nephew Draco before."

Mrs. Tonks glanced at Malfoy with teary eyes for a second, something which didn't go unnoticed by the boy. Nevertheless, the witch hastily blinked the tears away and locked her gaze with Snape to mask her uneasiness. "Husband? Since when? I never thought you were the type to get married…"

"He wasn't, until he met me," came the short and sassy answer, accompanied by a sly grin. "My husband couldn't resist my charm…"

Malfoy had to admit that hearing his cousin referring to Snape as her spouse had been amusing in the hospital, although it was making him feel slightly uncomfortable in here. Perhaps it was because he could actually picture it in his mind, and Merlin help him, he knew he wouldn't survive living with them as Mr. and Mrs. Snape.

The half-blood wizard could tell that the muggle was teasing him on purpose, and it took a great deal of effort to evade from replying with a snarky comment of his own.

Tonks smirked and replied amused, "You always had a thing for fierce women with striking eyes, didn't you?"

Snape restrained a strangled sound that was threatening to escape his throat. Angelica eyed him with an arched eyebrow, clearly interested in hearing this theory. Before his cheeks could turn red, he snarled, "We are not here to discuss my love life, thank you very much."

The corners of Andromeda's lips contracted until the smirk that had been placed on her features faded away, turning her expression into a sober one. "True. Tell me. Why do you think you are my niece?"

"I do not think it. I  _am_ , even though I am a muggle. I guess you remember a photo of a baby your mother showed you before passing away. That baby is my mother."

"Ella…" breathed out Tonks, her expression tearing up.

The trio felt a pang of hope when the woman recognized the name.

"You are Ella's daughter? I… How is she? I never even met her."

Angelica's eyes seemed void when she muttered in a neutral voice, "She's dead."

Andromeda tried to conceal her discomfort to the best of her abilities, yet everybody in the room could see right through her. "I-I am s-sorry. I really wish I could have met her, but it's not like I knew where to find her… Anyway, I gathered that she wouldn't appreciate meeting a Black after everything she went through."

"It's OK. It's been a long time. I was fifteen when it happened. I had enough time to get over it," assured Angelica in the calmest tone she could pull.

Tonks's eyes saddened visibly and Wilson began to see that the woman was as compassionate as Severus had guaranteed. Perhaps they stood a real chance. Everything wasn't lost yet.

"Why have you come here?" wondered the witch.

It was Snape's turn to speak.

"Death Eaters are after us. I cannot put my sons, wife or godson in danger. We cannot go to the Malfoy Manor, my home or Angelica's. They'd find us. We have stayed some weeks hidden in the woods, but it isn't an option anymore, not when we have to take care of two newborns. We need help, and you know me well enough to grasp that I don't ask for assistance unless I really need it, sometimes not even then."

Andromeda stared at them. Her concern converted into determination and her voice came as aloof. "I will help my niece and your babies, but don't expect me to be kind to a murderer and a Death Eater, family or not."

"Murderer?" whispered Wilson, looking at the wizards with disappointment. She didn't understand why she felt her heart shrinking at the news.

The witch's eyes went wide. "You married Snape without knowing he killed Albus Dumbledore?"

Severus cursed himself. He didn't like where this was leading to. Draco saw Angelica's eyes narrowing and her brow furrowing, a signal he had learnt to interpret as the beginning of an angry explosion of emotions. Before that could happen, the boy screamed, "Wait! Angelica, it's not what it seems!"

"Like hell! Did you kill that man?"

Snape stared at the muggle. She looked like a lioness, with her afro hair and her ferocious and enraged golden orbs, a lioness that was about to hunt her prey, and he was the target. Severus couldn't lie now, what would the use be? Hence, he murmured as calmly as he could, "I did."

Were there tears beginning to form in her eyes? Snape wasn't sure, but he suspected that Wilson was going to screech and kick them out of the house. Fortunately, Malfoy intervened again before anything drastic happened.

"Listen! You-know-who ordered me to kill Dumbledore. I failed. That's why he wanted to kill me, that's why Severus saved me and that's why we are in this mess!"

Andromeda furrowed her brow. She was plainly confused by then. Nonetheless, she wisely chose not to interrupt them. She wanted to listen closely to whatever they had to say, seeking the answers to the questions she hadn't asked.

"You lied to me!" she accused Draco, "He is a bloody assassin! I should have never helped you out that day! Now I would be in my humble apartment looking after my children! We would be safe! I wouldn't be on the run with Death Eaters! I wouldn't be playing as his wife!"

Snape shut his eyes and controlled himself from face-palming. So much for discretion. There was no escape now. Their cover had trembled when Andromeda mentioned Albus, but it was entirely blown.

Tonks's eyes widened when she realized that they had tricked to her. She was so shocked she couldn't speak. She simply stared at them, not knowing how to react for the second time in the same day.

"Snape had no choice!" defended the young Malfoy, hopefully attempting to fix the situation, as unsolvable as it appeared.

"Don't be dumb! Everybody has a choice!" retorted the muggle.

"He was under an unbreakable vow! He would have died if he hadn't killed him!"

Wilson had never heard of those vows, but she didn't like the way they sounded. The fact that the boy had just told her that Snape would have died managed to dry her mouth and keep her quiet for the time being.

"That's enough, Draco," barked Snape.

"But-"

"Shut. Up."

His voice and gaze had seldom been so intimidating, which was a lot to say. Tonks frowned and wondered in a frail voice, "Unbreakable vow?"

Snape sighed, "Your sister Narcissa. I had to protect Draco. He had been commanded an impossible task. I had to take his place."

Malfoy stared at the ground, clearly uncomfortable with this turn of conversation. Angelica calmed down, wondering how it was possible that her babies hadn't burst into tears solely for the screams that had previously filled the room.

"And since Malfoy failed, You-know-who wanted him dead… Something you prevented, putting all your lives in danger," concluded Andromeda, "Where does Angelica fit in all of this? Why did you pretend to be a family?"

Severus wanted to rub his temples in frustration. However, he kept calm for everybody's sake. They were still in Andromeda's living room, she hadn't thrown them out. That was a positive sign, wasn't it? He took a big breath and murmured, "I nearly died trying to save your nephew. Angelica healed my mortal injuries. She isn't the typical muggle. She had had an encounter with Death Eaters before, and she recognized my Dark Mark while healing my wounds, Draco's, as well. She already believed we were assassins and I still don't understand why she thought it was wise to succor two strangers like us, even if Draco told her we weren't on the bad side. I never meant for her to get involved in this mess. It just happened. Your sister Bellatrix and Fenrir found us in her flat. I apparated us into the woods just in time, but then she gave birth and we all found ourselves in a bigger mess. I didn't want to dig a deeper hole by telling her that her assumption was spot on, that I have indeed killed somebody. It would have worsened things. As for the family deal, I could think of nothing else for you to agree to help all of us or Angelica and the twins at least…"

"Why haven't you asked the Order for help?" Andromeda's voice had lost her distant tone. She sounded worried, even.

"Most of the members didn't trust me when Dumbledore was alive. They won't do it now, not when I wear the Death Eater mark, not when my godson wears one. I reckon Death Eaters coming after us is more than enough. I don't want half of the order to follow their example. I have enough on my plate already," conceded Severus.

The woman gulped and glanced at Wilson, who looked reflective. She was hugging her baby tight against her chest.

"Have you lied about the parentage?" Andromeda demanded, hoping that at least that bit was truth. She certainly had the hazel eyes to play the part, but she wanted to be sure of it.

"No." The happiness Tonks felt upon hearing that response wiped out early when Wilson kept talking, "Some Death Eaters killed my mother, arguing that she was a pathetic squib that had only brought disgrace to the Rosiers… Look, I really need to keep my sons safe. I have no one else to turn to…" she pleaded, her voice beginning to quiver.

Andromeda eyed her sadly before gulping and retorting to Snape, "I was one of the few who genuinely believed you were loyal to Dumbledore, Severus. Do you know how I felt when the word got around? Betrayed. Like a fool. And now you come here and expect me to buy you had no choice? I have already trusted in you once, I won't repeat the same mistake. I haven't changed my mind: I am helping Angelica and the kids, but don't ask anything else out of me."

"Wait!" Angelica's shriek caught everybody's attention. "I have not a single idea what an unbreakable vow really is… By what I've heard, I can tell that Severus was trying to protect Draco. I don't know who that Dumbledore is either, but perhaps they were right, perhaps Severus had no choice. He promised he'd keep me and my children safe and so far he's abided by that pledge. I know I said I would be better without them, but I wasn't being realistic. Death Eaters could have found me anyway. I still have Rosier blood running through my veins, muggle or not. It was only a matter of time. Severus could have left me behind and I'd probably be dead by now, those people would have taken my life… He prevented this. That says a lot about him, doesn't it? He killed, but he isn't evil. He's helping me, he's helping my sons and he's helping my cousin. I wouldn't say he is a saint, but he isn't a demon either."

Snape's eyes widened. Why the hell was this woman defending him now? She was clearly mad, mad and bipolar. One second she's throwing daggers at him and next one she is in protective mode. He'd never understand her.

"What I am trying to say is that you are free to assist us or not. Just take into account that I am a victim here, me, Ezra and Samuel; maybe even Severus and Draco." She locked her eyes with Severus's puzzled ones. Snape wasn't an easy man to read. In spite of it, Angelica could tell he didn't understand her behavior, so she justified, "Look, I don't like it that you killed. How can I? Still, I trust my cousin. If Draco says you had no choice, then I believe him."

He didn't know what to think… Was she acting? This encounter with Andromeda had gone terribly bad so far. Everything had turned upside down since the topic of Dumbledore's death had come to light.

The muggle directed her attention to her aunt then.

"Andromeda, I… I feel safe around Severus. I saved his life, but he also saved mine and my family's when two Death Eaters broke into my flat. And Draco is just a boy. His father is in prison and his mother may be dead. Something similar happened to me. I'm not leaving him. If you want to help me, then you'll welcome all of us. If not, we'll just step out of here and pretend this never happened."

Severus and Draco couldn't help but wonder what the bloody hell this woman was doing. Was she insane? She had a chance to keep her twins safe and she was throwing it away.

"What do you mean my sister  _may_  be dead?" inquired Andromeda, her voice low and trembling.

"My mother had been tortured before You-know-who attempted to murder me… Snape intervened and we couldn't go back to make sure she was breathing. We had to escape."

It was clear by the way he talked that it wasn't an easy topic for Malfoy, no matter how much he tried to keep his composure; his body couldn't help but shudder at the memory. Andromeda stayed silent for a long time, her expression stony. It felt like an eternity had passed before the witch mumbled, "My husband and I used to live in Upper Barnton. I still own the place. You may hide there,  _all_  of you. Muggles and wizards live together in that village… It is far away, so I doubt they'll recognize any of you."

"Thank you. Thank you so much for everything." Wilson's voice was thick with emotion. A few tears finally rolled down her cheeks and reached her lips, which were beaming brightly. When Andromeda smiled back, Angelica turned to face Severus. She hesitated, but grasped his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. Snape felt an electrifying feeling running through his body at her touch. By the glitter in her hazel eyes, he could tell that squeeze was her way of thanking him for coming here, for making it possible for her to meet her aunt and save her children at the same time. Suddenly, the usually cold wizard felt warm inside. They had a chance to survive, despite the unexpected turn of events.

 


	9. Chapter 9

A week went by in Upper Barnton. The house suited them just fine. True, it wasn't luxurious or big, but it was more than enough for them. The muggle and the wizards had adapted better than expected to their new lives. Angelica had bought a baby carriage for the twins and everything else the newborns required. Severus had acquired some potion's supplies and enclosed himself in a little room that only had an old desk, a little cupboard and an uncomfortable chair. Every time Draco asked what he was brewing, he didn't receive an answer. Every time Draco offered to help, his former teacher refused. Angelica didn't get a response either, whenever she asked. Therefore, she tried to obtain an explanation out of her cousin.

"Potions? As in making awful looking beverages out of flies' wings and spider webs so that the people who drink them fall in love and stuff like that?" she wondered incredulously.

"More or less."

The woman snorted and joked, "Don't tell me you also fly on broomsticks."

Draco raised his eyebrows and began, "Actually…"

"Dear mother of God!"

Draco and Angelica's relationship was progressing at a slow pace. Surprisingly, the boy liked spending time with the twins. Malfoy got distracted with Ezra and Samuel and forgot about the mess he was in. Wilson didn't mind it, she actually seemed thankful that he helped her now and then, albeit the boy didn't dare to change the diapers.

Shortly after dinner, the babies fell asleep. Nevertheless, the grown-ups were not in bed yet. Snape kept working on potions, immersed in his own mysterious world until a certain muggle interjected.

"What are those fumes and liquids?" inquired Angelica in a strangely nice tone, even though she knew the answer thanks to Malfoy.

"Nothing," grunted Severus, annoyed by the interruption.

He didn't even raise his head though. He kept stirring the beverage instead.

"They smell awful," the woman whined as she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Did you spot that by yourself? I should applaud your sensory abilities," he growled sarcastically.

"Excuse me for trying to engage in conversation with the other adult of the house," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

Snape's gaze left the cauldron and locked with hers then, his face impassive.

"You and I both know that every single time we open our mouths we end up arguing. Why in Salazar Slytherin's name would you want that now that Ezra and Samuel are fast asleep?"

Wilson looked like he had just caught her for a second, but composed herself and demanded, "Is it so difficult to believe I wanted to talk to you?"

"No. What is difficult to believe is that you would want to talk to me for its sake, without another purpose than simply chatting. So? Tell me. What is it you are seeking? Because  _fumes_   _and liquids that smell awful_  are not something you are keen on, I gather."

Angelica huffed, cursing the man for being so sharp.

"Fine! I wanted to tell you something," she confessed, raising her hands up in surrender. Snape couldn't help but smirk victoriously when the woman admitted he had been right. "I thought it would be best to approach the topic after testing the waters to see if now it was one of those  _rare_  occasions you were in a good mood. Obviously, you aren't."

"Well-spotted. Nonetheless, now that you've interposed my work, I'd rather you tell me about that  _sensitive_  topic at this moment."

"I'd rather not," she countered back, folding her arms across her chest.

"Angelica, don't test my patience."

Wilson hesitated, but decided it was best not to test his patience indeed, principally because of the tone he had used on her.

"I am worried about Draco," she finally confessed in a low voice. Snape arched and eyebrow and requested why. Angelica's eyes turned serious then, and she explained, "He accompanied me out of the house to buy some food… You know that this is a town with oblivious muggles who live next to wizards and witches. Well, on our way back we overheard some of them talking about –er,  _Azkaban_ , I think the word was. I didn't really get what was going on, but Draco paled and became anxious, no matter how hard he tried to conceal his feelings. He insisted that he was fine, but he wasn't. He still isn't. I've tried to talk to him, but he avoids me all the time. I guess he doesn't open up to me because we are still getting to know each other… You are his godfather. I thought that he may tell you what's wrong."

Snape's expression sobered. He forgot about the potions and stared raptly at the woman.

"What exactly was it you overheard?"

"I don't remember the precise words. I just know that it involved something related to Azkaban, which I have no idea what that is. And those wizards and witches looked…  _afraid_. They were talking nervously. I may be wrong, but I have the impression something incredibly bad has happened."

Severus proceeded to clean the desk. He appeared composed, but there was something in his expression that scared Angelica. He was extremely somber, and she knew then that her intuition was right. Something dangerous had happened. Before the man could leave his provisional lab, Wilson grabbed his wrist and shot a blast of questions, "Not so fast. What is Azkaban? What is happening? Should I worry?"

Snape stared at their hands touching as if mesmerized for a second before he became visibly awkward. Angelica noticed his discomfort, and quickly ceased the physical contact. He finally met her eyes and told her, "Azkaban is the prison where his father is kept. Despite being a wizard, I haven't got the ability to be in two places at a time. I went out on Monday to buy some supplies, but I haven't left anymore during this week. Thus, I have no idea of either, what is happening or if you should worry. I'm going to have a chat with Draco now to figure it out."

The muggle gulped then and said, "Okay, I'll give you two some space."

The half-blood wizard gave a nod and left the woman behind. He found his godson in his bedroom, looking outside the window with a troubled expression. He seemed unaware of his presence until the ex-spy cleared his throat. Grey eyes met black.

"Do you have something to tell me?"

His silky voice had come out somehow softer than usual, although it hadn't lost its stern quality.

The blond shrugged and kept quiet.

"What did you hear when you went out with Angelica?" insisted Snape.

"Nothing."

Severus raised an eyebrow then.

" _Nothing_? I query it. Angelica looked distressed."

The teenager shrugged again and provided, hoping his godfather would leave him alone, "You know her… She tends to overreact."

"Your attempts to distract me and dodge my questions are meager to say the least, Draco. What's the deal with Azkaban?"

His question was met with more silence, but the Potions Master was stubborn and he had proposed himself not to leave this room until the boy confessed. Therefore, he threatened, "Care to articulate an understandable response? Or would you rather want me to go out, buy the  _Daily_   _Prophet_  and decipher the enigma on my own? Perhaps I don't even need to pay for the newspaper. Perhaps I'll  _overhear_  the neighbors. Either way, I'll find out what's happened with Azkaban," When he saw the hint of anguish in his silvery eyes, Snape sighed and tried again, this time gentler, "I'd be highly disappointed in you if you decided not to tell me now. I am your godfather. You have to trust in me, Draco. That's what your parents wished for if anything happened to them. You know it."

Malfoy gulped and averted his gaze, but he finally spoke, "Death Eaters have escaped from Azkaban."

Snape's mouth went dry. He instantly knew what the boy was thinking and coldly warned him, "You cannot contact Lucius, Draco. You'd risk your safety. You'd risk Angelica's and her sons'. You'd risk mine. We have to be careful."

"But my father-"

"The last thing your father has ever wanted is to put you in danger, even if he hasn't always succeeded," he cut him off, his voice as harsh as ever, not giving the boy an opportunity to counter him back.

Draco stared at his godfather with an icy gaze, but quickly nodded. That was the end of their tense conversation. If the former spy had stayed longer, he would have noticed the look of slytherin determination in Malfoy's eyes, he would have known he was scheming something.

The following morning, Snape awoke abruptly due to the way Angelica shook him.

"Severus! Wake up!" she squeaked anxiously.

The man pushed her hands away and rubbed his temples in tiredness, as if he hadn't slept well that night. He had no time to demand what was the rush, for the muggle was already babbling, "Draco isn't home. I've looked everywhere. I even asked some villagers if they had seen him. Nobody knows. The boy has disappeared."

Every trace of drowsiness dissolved from Snape's features in a fraction of a second after his brain fathomed what was going on. He rose and made her get out of the bedroom.

"Severus, dammit! Don't leave me in the shadows! What are you going to do? We have no idea where the lad has gone to! I'm not leaving until you answer me!" she demanded.

"Bloody hell, woman! Will you let me get dressed first, or is it asking for too much?"

The muggle woman blushed considerably when she realized that he was still only in his black pajama pants. She traced with her hazel eyes the mass of curls from his abdomen to his chest for longer than necessary. Then her gaze ascended to his bow-shaped lips, which were pressed in annoyance, and finally settled in his deep eyes, only to be welcomed by a raised eyebrow that seemed to scream she better leave the room. She shut the bedroom door wordlessly and tried to control her sudden emotions.  _What's wrong with me?_ she thought.  _I've seen him practically naked before and I didn't react like this. True, his wound, scars and bloody tattoo were way too distracting… But damn! Once I brush off those, even I have to admit that he doesn't look bad. He looks good. He looks very good, even with his scowl on his face. I wonder whether he looks better when he smiles, if he ever does. I wonder what it would feel like to run my hands along his chest while his lips kiss my neck and his hand caresses my… Get a grip, Angelica. Been there, done that. That's how I got pregnant last time. Oh, well. He would never want me, so why should I deprive myself of fantasizing?_

By the end of her internal monologue, there was a dreamy expression on her face and a wishful smile on her lips that was cut short when Snape, now fully dressed, came out of the room, reminding her of her cousin's departure. Wilson didn't have to repeat her previous questions, for the man muttered, "What Draco overheard the other day was that Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban. He must have snuck out to see his father, a Death Eater, putting all of us in danger. I'm going to look for him. This house has wards but the longer I am gone, the weaker the wards get, meaning that some witches or wizards could break in. You'll be safe until night; still I'll try to come back as soon as I can. If for whatever reason I haven't returned by then, take the babies and go to Andromeda's house. Make sure nobody follows you."

Angelica nodded quickly, the fanciful state long forgotten. Snape was about to apparate when she drew near him and grasped his wrist, like last night. This time, when they locked eyes she didn't let go of him. Instead, she gulped and implored that he came back soon with Draco and that he was careful. Her voice had been brimmed over with so much concern that Severus felt a lump forming in his throat. She almost looked like she cared for him and that thought terrified him, especially when a flash of the way she had stared at his half-naked figure crossed his mind and resurfaced with emotions he had long buried. He apparated away without looking back.

Snape appeared close to the Malfoy Manor. From afar, Severus could see that all the blinds from the windows were down. That could mean two things: either there was a meeting taking place or there was somebody inside hiding something, a Malfoy, probably. As there were no Death Eaters guarding the entrance, Snape discarded the first option. Somehow more tranquil, he made his way towards the fancy Manor and came in. He immediately felt that somebody was watching him the moment he stepped into the hall. He took out his wand hastily and stood his ground, searching for whomever it was that was observing him. Soon, a familiar voice gasped, "Sir? Is that you?"

Severus turned to the source of the sound only to meet the big surprised eyes of the house-elf. The man sighed relieved and asked, "Dobby, have you seen young Malfoy?"

The creature twiddled his thumbs in nervousness and finally nodded.

"May you tell me where he is?" he inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Master Malfoy told Dobby to alert him if anybody came. Master Malfoy told Dobby not to reveal his location, sir," the house-elf conceded finally.

"Is he here?" he asked again, ignoring his answer.

Dobby stared at the former Professor before snapping his fingers and apparating away.

"Just great," Severus gritted under his breath.

He tried to look for his godson, but Draco found him first, Dobby close behind him.

"Sir? What are you doing here?" the boy demanded, eyes wide in shock.

He didn't provide an answer, rather, he asked him whether they were alone in the house or not. Just as the words slipped out of his mouth, two more figures emerged in the room. Snape had expected to see a worn out Lucius. Dementors and Azkaban had that effect. However, he hadn't dared to think that he'd ever see the blonde Black Sister alive. She looked weary, stressed out, like she didn't get any sleep. In spite of it, her normally icy blue eyes were warm.

"Severus…" she whispered with a tiny smile that was playing on her lips, erasing the somehow drained lines out of her face. "Draco has told us what happened. Words cannot express how grateful I am that you looked after him and-"

"Narcissa," he cut her off, raising a hand, "I am his godfather. I did what I must."

The blonde witch understood that that was his way of saying that he cared for the boy and that he'd do it again, so her grin enlarged. By his part, Lucius advanced and shook hands with Snape.

"Thank you again, Severus. Draco wouldn't have survived without you, especially with my sister-in-law going after him."

Snape nodded somberly again, noticing that Narcissa cringed at the mention of her psychopath sister. Lucius oversaw it and kept talking, "I always suspected you were on Dumbledore's side all along, Severus. What you did just proves me right."

By his tone, Snape couldn't tell if he was glad or not that he was right.

"Why didn't you tell the Dark Lord, then?" was all he asked.

The pureblood wizard grinned ruefully and murmured, "I have always respected you, Severus. I wasn't sure of where your loyalty truly laid, but I didn't want to risk reporting wrong information to the Dark Lord."

"That's not the only reason, is it?" inquired Severus.

Lucius smirked and the half-blood instantly knew that perhaps the Malfoys weren't as loyal to Voldemort's cause as they made everybody believe. They first cared about the family, then power. The rest was blurry in the background.

"You can trust in us, Severus. We understand that you two are on the run, so Draco will go with you in short. There is a Death Eater meeting today anyway. All of us who escaped Azkaban are…  _invited._  It won't be long until some Death Eaters arrive."

Draco tried to persuade his parents that they should simply escape with them, but Lucius and Narcissa refuted. They knew that Voldemort didn't trust them as much as he used to, and if they gave him reason to doubt them he wouldn't hesitate to look for them and kill them. No. The Malfoys had to go separate ways and survive until the war finished. Then they'd have to adapt to whichever side won and everything would turn out okay. Eventually, Severus and Draco parted ways and apparated back to Upper Barnton. The slytherins expected to hear some baby cries. They had mentally prepared themselves for a nag about them not coming sooner from the muggle woman. Nevertheless, the wailings of the twins weren't heard, the voice of Malfoy's cousin didn't echo across the room. In fact, everything they could hear was the sound of silence. The muggle family wasn't home.

"Stupid woman! I told her not to leave until it was night!" complained Snape, "If she is incapable of obeying such an easy order when her life is in danger, then I don't want to imagine her as a student! I bet she was an absolute dunderhead that disrespected her teachers every time she could. She-"

His rambling was interrupted by a letter Draco had handed him after spotting it on the living room table and skimming through it. The color from the youngster's face whitened until he looked sick and his hands were trembling, something which perturbed Snape, even though he covered it well. His black eyes scanned the entire note and made his stomach twist in anguish, not only because of the content, but because of the drop of blood sprinkled next to the name of the remittent.

" _Long time no see, coward,_

_If you want the filthy muggle and her sons to survive, you will surrender. It is easy, traitor: yours and my nephew's lives in exchange of the woman and the twins. We'll be in the place where you took the Dark Mark at midnight. If I were you, I would be punctual. You know that I am a little crazy and I may murder them before you arrive, just out of boredom._

_It's your call,_

_Bellatrix Lestrange."_

Snape didn't comprehend how Bellatrix had kidnapped them. The wards were still strong for he had been out merely for an hour. The only way the psycho witch may have entered was if Wilson herself opened the door. So why would she do that when he had warned her? Why would she do that when she knew who that woman was? Snape forced himself not to deem on that. There was no time. He couldn't leave Angelica, Ezra and Samuel at Bellatrix's mercy. Severus cursed himself for pledging he'd do anything to guarantee the muggle and her sons stayed safe that day in the forest. Nonetheless, what he really couldn't stand, what scared him to death, was that he truly cared for them, for he was aware that once you care, you cannot go back. The feeling would stay the same or intensify, no matter what. He was in too deep and he was terrified.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy were punctual. They were in the Forbidden Forest, precisely where the ex-spy had taken the Dark Mark and sealed his fate. It was a starless new moon night, and the sky looked like a huge black blanket that covered the world. The screams of Bellatrix Lestrange insulting Angelica mixed with the sound of the wind and the hoot of an owl. Severus and Draco illuminated the pathway with a simple cast of lumos and followed the voice of the witch. The pair arrived just in time to witness Angelica being tied with ropes to a tree and spitting in the Black sister's face, her hazel eyes shimmering wildly against the darkness like those of a cat. Draco felt relief at the sight of his cousin being very much alive, although fear was still his main emotion. By his part, Severus felt a sudden wrath at seeing the trapped muggle. He was somehow relieved and proud that she was such a fighter, yet concerned that her reckless attitude may get them all killed.

"You filthy-"

"Long time no see, Lestrange," Severus interrupted the pureblood witch. However, he wasn't looking at her but at Angelica.

Angelica's eyes widened and locked with his. The gold in her orbs radiated hope, hope that turned into terror in a fraction of a second.

Bellatrix faced him and smirked wickedly.

"I see you received my post," she taunted him, glancing sideways at her nephew for a second.

"Obviously."

"Now, Snape. Don't be an arse. I could always break the branches with a simple jinx if you get me mad," sing-sang the crazy woman, pointing above her.

Draco and Severus followed the indication with his eyes, only to see that the babies were tied with ropes on a bough from the same tree Wilson in which was tethered. Both wizards shuddered at the sight. The only consolation was that the babies appeared asleep as they were making no sound.

"You are a lunatic, bitch!" bawled Angelica, trying to break free yet failing miserably.

"Ah, ah, ah, filthy muggle. I'd keep quiet if I were you…" she mocked.

"Let them be, Lestrange. They are not worthy of your time. You have us. If memory serves me well, that was what you wanted," he said slowly, a cold expression on his face.

"Goddamn, Severus! Just take Draco and go! She has us! She will kill us and then she'll kill you too! It's a trap! Save yourselves, dammit, before it is too late! She put a spell to prevent you from apparating! You need to run and don't look ba-"

Bellatrix waved her wand and casted a jinx that impeded the woman to speak.

"Oh, thank Merlin! I should have shut you up a long time ago… My ears are going to explode…" the witch whined. "So? You won't believe this foolish muggle, would you, Snape?" Severus didn't reply, and Bellatrix simply smirked and demanded, "Give me your wands."

"Let the babies free first."

The witch did, surprisingly. Ezra and Samuel floated, guided by Bellatrix's wand, until they landed on the ground.

"Now their mother."

"Not until you give me your wands," she commanded.

Bellatrix wanted to have something that prevented them from running away at the last minute. Severus set his wand on the ground and kicked it towards the witch and Draco followed suit. The Death Eater stepped on their wands. She cracked an evil grin and pointed her wand at the twins.

"You should have listened to the muggle! Now she's going to see them die before I kill her too! And you are going to watch!"

Severus and Draco exchanged a knowing look. In a matter of a second, Draco took Ezra and Samuel and flew away, the same way his godfather had taught him earlier. Simultaneously, Severus accioed the wands non-verbally, stupefied Bellatrix and hurried to loosen the ropes that fastened Angelica.

"We are going to go now. Hold me," he enjoined.

"My babies!" she cried out.

"Draco's got them. Come on!" he urged.

Angelica didn't hesitate then, and Severus flew away from the scene with the muggle clinging to him. Once they were far away, he apparated. They appeared in a forest, close to Andromeda's house. Draco was waiting for them with two scared wailing babies in his arms. Angelica sighed, relieved, and let go of the wizard immediately, embracing her babies.

"Shhh… Mama is here. Everything will be fine," she choked, some tears escaping her eyes.

She dried them off quickly, and met Severus's black eyes. She had only two words for him:  _thank you_. The moment she pronounced them with her emotion filled voice, Snape felt that everything had been worth it. Warmth was spreading across his chest, creating in him a sense of satisfaction. Their eyes were locked, and for a moment, he felt like only Angelica was there with him, as if the trees, Draco and even the babies had dissolved.

"We must get to our Aunt's place…" said Draco, pulling Severus back to reality.

Angelica nodded and together, they marched towards the house. When they knocked, Angelica was still shaking like a leaf, and truth be told, Draco was slightly trembling too. The only one who looked as composed as ever was Severus. Andromeda opened the door, and her first thought was that she had already helped them enough. Nevertheless, when she spotted that both her niece and nephew looked juddered, her expression softened.

"What's happened?" she asked, skipping the greetings.

"Your psychologically unbalanced sister found us and kidnapped your niece and her sons. We have escaped, but we cannot return to the house you offered us," Severus recited in his silky voice. "It isn't safe."

"And you expect me to help you again," finished Tonks for him, her eyebrow lifted.

She wanted to shut the door in their faces and forget about them. Yet, she knew that she would never forgive herself if she abandoned Angelica, the kids, and even Draco after the events she had been informed of. She stepped aside and beckoned them to enter. She would allow them stay with her. She had enough space, and the truth was that she felt lonely since Ted passed away and Nymphadora settled down with Remus Lupin. Having the babies around and getting to know Angelica seemed a good plan, even if she had to endure Severus. She deemed that as long as he minded his own business, everything would be fine. What bothered her was her relationship with her nephew. Narcissa had cut ties with her years ago. She would have abhorred that Draco was under her roof now, but she couldn't forsake him.

Andromeda set up a room for Angelica and the twins, and transfigured a crib along with some baby supplies. Angelica put her sons to sleep and sat on the bed. The events of the day flashed in her mind as if they were a muggle movie, only this time she was the main character and the actions weren't fictional. She began to cry unwittingly. She wasn't very loud, but the weak weeps were enough for Draco and Severus to hear her. After all, each of them had a room of their own which was close to her and the babies.

"We should talk to her," suggested the youngest.

"It's late," was all Severus said, "I just wish to rest."

"Likewise, but if she doesn't stop crying, Samuel and Ezra will wake up and then none of us will get any sleep," argued the boy.

Severus groaned, seeing his logic. He nodded and assured him that he'd take care of her and that he should go to bed. Draco was only happy to comply. Severus knocked on her door, softly so as not to wake the babies. Angelica's whimpers ceased abruptly, and he interpreted it as an invitation to come in. He adjusted the door and sat next to her.

"What do you want?" she asked.

She didn't sound bitter, angry or sarcastic, as usual. Instead, there was a worn-out tone overpowering her voice. It blocked him from making a snarky remark. In its place, he whispered, "I want to know if you are okay."

She seemed taken aback for the request, and she simply shrugged and gulped, "I am fine."

Severus snorted, "I don't even need to use legilimency on you to fathom that you are an appalling liar. If you want your lies to be believable, the first rule is to keep eye contact. Keep your voice steady. Never shrug. It gives the impression you are making up an excuse. Don't swallow too hard. Usually, your mouth goes dry when you lie, and that's why the body reacts lik–"

"I can see you're a human polygraph. Can you skip the lecture?" she interrupted him, ignoring the magical term she wasn't familiar with, "I don't need you to point out everything I do wrong."

"Well, that's too bad, because I am going to keep indicating everything you did wrong today, starting by opening the door to a bloody Death Eater when I gave you detailed instructions."

"Sod off, Severus. I am the first one that regrets doing that, okay?" she confessed bitingly.

There was a long silence, and it became more awkward as the time went by. Severus couldn't take it anymore, so he shook his head and asked, "Why did you do it in the first place, Angelica? I thought you were more intelligent."

His tone had been far from soft, but Angelica answered him anyway, being used to it. Her voice was so low Snape had to make an effort to listen to her version of events.

"Somebody rang and I saw that it was Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds."

"The muggle neighbors?"

"Yes. Mr. Reynold was badly injured and they asked me if they could enter while they waited for an ambulance to arrive."

"Why couldn't they wait in their own home? They live next to Andromeda's place."

The woman sighed, "They said that they had lost the keys, so I let them in. I looked for the first-aid kit and when I returned, Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds weren't there. I think they had somehow transformed themselves to look like them, but they had been those same Death Eaters that came home the first time around."

"Polyjuice potion…" muttered the man under his breath, more to himself than to her.

In any case, the woman kept talking, as if she hadn't heard him.

"They made fun of me, said that my weakness was that I always helped people in need… They had Ezra and Samuel," she held back a sob then, and Severus felt her body shuddering against his, "I freaked out. The only thing on my mind was to get my gun and defend myself and the kids. I managed to dodge their incantations and catch my weapon. They were disconcerted at first when I pointed it at them… They even laughed. I was so nervous I wasted two shots, but I hit the man. The witch got mad, and when I pulled the trigger, I realized I had run out of bullets. I was petrified, and that's when the woman caught me. She wrote the note and then apparated away with me and the babies."

"The blood in the note was not yours, then," he assumed. "It was Fenrir's."

She nodded and when he noticed she wasn't planning on giving him more information, he asked what had happened until midnight. After all, Ezra, Samuel and Angelica had been at the mercy of an unhinged witch with lethal skills.

"She starved us… She didn't give us water. She kept taunting me about being the biggest dishonor of the Rosier family…" she murmured.

Although she was looking at him, Severus felt like her eyes weren't watching him, as if she was replaying the events in her mind.

"So she knows your parentage."

"Apparently," she said cuttingly.

"Did she do anything else?" he inquired with a strange softness in his usually stern voice.

"No," assured Angelica.

She didn't realize she had shrugged. She didn't acknowledge she had broken eye-contact. She definitely didn't perceive she had gulped after cracking the negative adverb.

"I thought you paid attention when I told you what actions to avoid when lying, Angelica," was all he said.

Angelica blushed, knowing he had caught her evading the truth again. After some deliberation, she rolled her sleeves up, hoping that what he'd see there would satiate his curiosity. Thanks to the little light emitted by the lamp on the nightstand, Severus could seamlessly read the words  _filthy muggle_  craved on her left forearm and  _disgrace_ on her right one. The wounds had started to scab.

"A knife," she susurrated.

Snape saw how she was trying hard to be strong in front of him. He couldn't begin to imagine what this woman had endured at Bellatrix's hands. Unconsciously, his fingers grazed around the words that would leave a scar. She retired her arms brusquely, as if his touch had burned her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling like an idiot.

"No, don't apologize. It's just that…it still hurts. I… You wanted to know if I was okay. Well, I am not okay. I had a horrible day and I killed a man," she said, losing some luminosity in her eyes. For some reason, Severus hated that sight of hers.

"It was in self-defense. He was an evilly sick werewolf. He bit children just for fun, so that they'd turn into werewolves too. You actually did both the wizarding world and the muggle world a favor by putting an end to his life," murmured Severus coldly.

Angelica wasn't convinced. She kept shaking her head and explained, "I've been scarred for life, and not only on my skin. I still took away somebody's life. I thought I was going to die. I thought I had failed my sons. When you and Draco came, I felt like I was dragging you to your own death too."

Severus's glance was directed to her wounded arms, reading the awful words over and over again. He knew what she meant by being scarred not only on her skin. Her soul wasn't left intact after the experience. That was why he had been against killing Dumbledore himself in the first place, but he had had no choice. Angelica hadn't had a choice either. Now both of them were scarred souls. Perhaps, they were more similar than he wanted to admit. Severus cleared his throat and attempted to light up the mood by saying, "Thankfully, my intellect is superior to the dunderheads I had to teach Potions to for years, and I was able to plan a way to get us out of that mess."

She chuckled trough her tears at his comment. Severus felt like that was a beautiful sound that he had seldom had the pleasure to listen to. Suddenly, he yearned to freeze time and forget about their trouble, and only focus on the way her shoulders shook and her nose crinkled adorably. His wish didn't come true, and when her gurgles subsided, she whispered, "Thank you again. I don't even want to think what would have happened if you hadn't saved my family."

His mouth went dry at her words, but he managed to gulp and say, "I took a vow."

Angelica smirked and teased with a twinkle in her striking eyes, "I think that isn't the only reason, Severus. You swallowed hard. Are you sure you aren't hiding the truth?"

So, Angelica wouldn't have been a dunderhead at school. She was a fast learner. He stared dumbfounded at her for some time, something which only served to amuse the woman.

"Cat got your tongue?" she quipped.

The comment made him recover from his numb state. He actually felt relieved that her sarcastic mode was on again. It reminded him of the Angelica he had met, instead of the crying mess he had come into.

"Hardly," he muttered, "I simply have nothing else to say."

The muggle smirked at him, a clear sign she didn't believe him. Slowly, her lips contorted and transformed the smirk into a smile that didn't show her teeth. He stared mesmerized at her fleshy lips, not really understanding why. Either, she didn't seem to notice or she chose to ignore that, for she mumbled whole-heartedly, "Thank you for talking to me and making me feel better, Severus. I really needed that."

Severus gave a nod and stood up, disregarding the shock he felt upon her words. He was about to leave, but halted in the doorway. Without turning around to face her, he murmured loud enough for her to hear, "You may be a muggle, but you aren't filthy and you definitely aren't a disgrace. Assisting people in need is not weakness. Kindness isn't weakness, it is strength. Trust me, I know it. I find it immensely hard to be kind. You are a strong woman, and your scars make you even stronger."

With that said, he abandoned the room. It was Angelica's turn to feel dumbstruck.

 


	11. Chapter 11

The snow finally covered Andromeda's house.

Severus spent as much time as he could in the laboratory. He didn't reply whenever someone asked him what he was brewing, he didn't even give a vague answer so that they had clues to speculate, much like he had done back in Upper Barnton. However, he knew that Andromeda could make them leave if she wished, so he did his best not to bother her and collaborated with the house chores.

He avoided the babies like a plague, but there had been times that Angelica had looked at him so desperately, that he had given her a hand. He blamed his unexpected soft side on her puppy eyes. Those eyes he had been in awe with ever since he met her. She was the one he talked to the most, even more than to Draco. The incident with Bellatrix and Fenrir had bonded them in a way Severus would have never believed possible.

Severus liked to hear Angelica sing to her sons. She usually hummed or even sang lowly while she breastfed them, and even though she certainly wasn't a singer or anything close to it, Severus was hypnotized by her. That is why he always made as if he was doing some house chores around Angelica's room during breastfeeding time, not to watch, but to listen to her. It was one of the moments he could take his mind off thinking about the war. He focused on nothing but her voice and the warmth it transmitted. He deemed it was funny how she could sound so hysterical one second and become peaceful and sweet the other. When she was with her children, she was all love. His own mother had never looked at him the way Angelica did to Ezra and Samuel. Maybe that was the reason why he felt drawn to her when she breastfed the babies, because she was all warmth, and he had always felt cold.

Angelica wasn't as jumpy as usual. One would have thought that with two babies that spent the day and the night crying, she would be on the edge. It wasn't the case. Motherhood had done her good, motherhood and stability. The months had permitted the muggle to get to know her aunt and cousin better, and for the first time since she was fifteen, she felt like she wasn't alone. She had a family again, even if they were wizards and witches.

Andromeda seemed happy to have her in her life. She actually helped with Ezra and Samuel even when it wasn't necessary, no matter how much Angelica insisted she could handle them.

"I've felt lonely ever since my husband passed away and my daughter settled down with Remus. Ezra and Samuel are a gift. You are a gift. I want to help. That's what family is for," would say Andromeda.

Angelica didn't have it in her heart to refuse her assistance. They may have been the ones asking for her aid, but Andromeda had gained something in exchange too: company. Angelica noticed that Andromeda's initial distant pose with Draco had gradually warmed up. They still were slightly awkward with each other, but they had progressed.

Christmas spirit didn't really change their relationships much. In fact, on Christmas day, they woke up and followed their routines after exchanging a few words during breakfast. What they didn't know was that the day would be anything but ordinary.

A green light flashed across the living room and a couple with a baby stumbled out the chimney, all covered in dust. They stared at Angelica in wonder.

"Who are you?" asked the woman, holding the baby close to her.

"I could ask you the same thing. I live here, not the other way around," Angelica barked, putting her hands on her waist.

The mysterious woman snorted, "Well, I  _lived_  here for years, so I'd say you are the intruder. Where's my mother?"

Angelica twigged.

"You are Nymphadora, her daughter…" she breathed out more to herself than to her audience. "You must be Remus then, and the baby is Edward, just like Andromeda's deceased husband…"

Remus and Nymphadora exchanged worried looks and drew their wands out.

"Who are you?" asked the metamorphmagus. "Why do you know us?"

Angelica, far from feeling intimidated, raised an eyebrow and replied amused, "Why? I am your cousin,  _Dora_."

Nymphadora narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth, and just when she was about to speak up, Andromeda came in. She squealed and enfolded her daughter in a tight embrace, careful not to hurt Teddy. She kissed his temple and then shook hands with Remus, who looked quite lost at the sudden turn of events, his wand still pointing at Angelica.

"Mother? Who is this woman and why does she say we are related?"

Andromeda lowered her gaze.

"She is your cousin, Dora. And your other cousin is in the bedroom, reading a book."

Nymphadora frowned. As far as she knew, the only cousin she had was Draco. Angelica didn't resemble Narcissa one bit. Her hair was curly like Bellatrix's, but she doubted this was her child. So where did Angelica come from?

"Draco is here?" spluttered Remus. "We thought he had disappeared…"

"No. He's home… He's reading a book to my sons…"

"What?" choked Nymphadora.

"I had twin babies six months ago…"

"Just how many family members did you welcome home?" asked Nymphadora, still struggling to assimilate what they were telling her.

"Well, there is someone else at home. He isn't family, but you know him… Severus Snape," revealed her mother.

Nymphadora gaped.

Remus set off and looking around the house in search of the man who had betrayed them all. It didn't take him long to smell a distinctive smell of potions. The fumes led him to the lab where Severus was brewing. If the situation hadn't been so crucial, he would have laughed at the typical sight. He pointed his wand to the ex-spy, his eyes furious.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

Severus stopped stirring but didn't take his wand out.

"Out of your group of friends, I thought you were the intelligent one. I am brewing a potion."

Remus squinted his eyes.

"Now it's not the time to be your sarcastic self, Snape! You're a traitor! What are you doing here? Did you put a spell on my mother-in-law? Or better yet, did you give her a potion to make her forget you killed a man and take you in? I honestly see no other option, here."

Severus could only crinkle his nose before Angelica's stern voice resonated across the lab, ordering Remus to lower his wand.

"Why should I? He's an assassin!" he screamed, his face contorted in pain.

The accusation, although truthful, made Severus cringe.

"He had no choice!" screeched Angelica.

"Everybody has a choice!"

Angelica swallowed hard. Those had been the exact words she had uttered when she found out Severus had killed before she knew about the unbreakable vow. She waited for the man that had saved her so many times to defend himself. To speak, sneer or scowl, to do something, anything, but he kept still. He commented on nothing, and his expression was emotionless.

"Dammit, Severus! If you don't tell him, I will! I will not stand by and watch as yet another person judges you without knowing half of the truth!"

Her intervention surprised Severus. He had never thought she would be so fierce and support him like that against a stranger, never in a million years. Only Draco had ever defended him. Draco and Albus. Nobody else. It wasn't like he needed somebody to defend him, but the gesture was meaningful to him. He didn't inspire trust, yet Angelica trusted him with his life. She had stayed with him. She had helped him even when she queried he was an assassin, even when he found out he had actually killed. Angelica was looking at him suppliant. She wasn't close to him, but her hand reached out as if she wanted to console him. Severus felt slightly uncomfortable with her caring attitude, mainly in front of Remus.

Grasping that Severus wouldn't acknowledge anything and not really caring whether he wanted Remus to know, Angelica acknowledged, "Severus was under the unbreakable vow. He had to do it."

Remus sucked in air and looked hard at Severus, his blank mask on despite the thousand thoughts and feelings that were occupying his brain and heart. The werewolf glanced at the muggle then, untrusty.

"You may be family, but I have just met you. Why should I trust you?"

The grip on his wand hadn't slackened. Angelica gulped.

"You don't have to trust me. You have to trust the  _facts_. Severus isn't a Death Eater. I've met them, and they are cold killers. They are consumed by hate and are incapable of thinking of anyone but themselves and their lord. Severus isn't like that. He pledged he would keep my sons safe, and he has not gone back on the promise. Why would he care about a muggle and her sons if he was like any other Death Eater?"

"He must have a reason," murmured Remus, skeptical. "All slytherins do. Nothing's free for them."

"Yes. The reason is he understands what honor means," she spat, hands on her hips, jutting chin.

Honor. Severus wanted to utter a bittersweet laugh. She was the only person on Earth who'd ever describe him as an honorable man. It was weird. He quite liked the feeling. Being trusted, being cared for. That was everything he had ever yearned, that plus being loved.

Andromeda and Nymphadora arrived with Teddy then. Even the baby noticed that the air was tense for he shifted and wailed in his mother's arms. Andromeda convinced Remus to lower his wand, although his expression was of sheer wariness, his eyes fixed on Severus.

"I still don't trust you."

"Understandable. Now, may you leave me to my business?"

Andromeda sighed and urged everybody to go to the living room so that she could explain everything. Angelica stayed though, her hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Are you deaf or do you simply enjoy pissing me off?" he grunted while he chopped some roots.

He didn't truly know why he talked to her like she was his dunderhead student misbehaving after curfew. Perhaps it was because he wasn't used to people caring for him. Perhaps it was because seeing the bloody werewolf had put him in a bad mood.

"Is that how you are going to thank me for defending you? Maybe I shouldn't bother to help you the next time."

Angelica didn't hide her hurt feelings in her tone. She was offended, and she was about to storm off when Severus's velvety voice halted her.

"I don't need you to defend me." The muggle rolled her eyes at his words. "But you deserve my gratitude, so thank you. You and Draco are the only ones who have ever defended me since I killed Albus."

Angelica was struck for a second. She would have never expected thankful words coming from his mouth. She could tell he wasn't used to apologizing by the way he averted her gaze. She knew he regretted killing Albus by his dark, remorseful voice. She had never been very good at reading body language, but somehow, she noticed those details when it came to him. She could relate to his guilt all too well, but it had been him who had cheered her up, and now she felt like it was her duty to do the same for him.

"Sometimes we have no choice but to kill, Severus. You taught me that. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't killed that Death Eater? And who knows what would have happened to Draco if you hadn't taken his place? It still doesn't make it right, and I feel like I will never be the same after killing, but I have to fight…  _We_  have to fight. You may be a wizard and I a muggle, but I think we are more alike than you would ever admit."

There was a long silence. Severus resumed to brewing, perhaps to avoid looking at her concerned eyes.

Angelica observed the way his skilled hands moved gracefully and cut ingredients, stirred the potion. The way he pursed his lips when he concentrated made her wonder what they would feel like pressed on her neck, and she felt herself blushing at the thought.

"Is it so interesting to see the way I brew?"

She was caught off guard, yet her response was honest.

"I-It is to me… These beverages and fumes are something…  _magical_. The way they change color and texture… It is actually beautiful to see… It's unique. Besides, you look like a great potion maker. The movements come naturally to you."

He would have felt embarrassed and even blushed at her flattery had it not been for the way she had referred to his job.

Severus crinkled his nose and growled, "I thought you didn't like awful-smelling potions. Not to mention, the correct term is potioneer or Potions Master, not  _potion maker_."

Angelica rolled her eyes.

"Forgive me, a mere muggle, for using an incorrect term," she said, sarcastically. "It will not happen again. And for the record, this particular potion's smell is tolerable."

Severus huffed but didn't comment. Angelica dropped her sassy attitude and became serious. She had heard Andromeda saying that Remus and Nymphadora knew Severus, but why? Something told her it wasn't only because he had killed a man.

"Remus and Nymphadora know you… What's your past?"

He shot his head up and locked eyes with her.

"I'm not in the mood for a chit-chat."

She folded her arms across her chest. He made things so very difficult, but she wasn't going to make things easy for him either. That was just the way they were: stubborn as a mule, unwilling to accept defeat.

"That's too bad. I won't leave this room until you tell me about it."

Severus let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why do you care anyway?"

"They're my family, and you are, well," she stalled, thinking of the most suitable word. At the end, she drawled, "my  _friend_ … I'm curious."

Severus narrowed his eyes when she muttered the word  _friend_. He would have believed it was a joke, but Angelica's expression was sober. She had meant it, and he didn't know how to feel about that.

"Friend?"

She shrugged.

"I couldn't find a more fitting word. We are not only acquaintances. I trust you with my life, and you know things about me I haven't told anyone. Not to my family, especially not to them. They don't know I killed that Death Eater. I've kept my scars to myself. You are the only one I showed them to. I saved your life. You saved mine and my sons'. I know I am far from perfect. I am moody, I tend to scream and overact, and I am impatient, but I can be caring too. I care for you, even if that makes you feel uncomfortable. That's what friends do, right? Confide in and care for each other."

If somebody asked her, Angelica would say the lines on his face didn't appear as hard as a minute ago.

"What makes you think I trust you enough to tell you?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Angelica had given him two reasons that she considered them friends: confiding in and caring for each other. He had just referred to the reliance, not the caring part. Thus, Angelica felt like he was agreeing with her, like he considered her something similar to a friend even though he would never acknowledge it explicitly. She felt victorious and didn't suppress a lopsided cocky smile.

"You haven't kicked me out of your  _holy_  lab," she ribbed. "That must mean you aren't so uncomfortable with me."

He snorted.

"I actually told you to leave, you simply disobeyed."

She clucked.

"Whatever. I am still here."

_Damn her and her inexorable pigheadedness,_  he cursed. There was a grain of truth in her words. He could have insisted on her leaving. Yet, here they were. His pride wanted to push her away, but his body actually liked her company. A constant struggle. He said nothing and continued brewing, willing himself to focus on the potion and forget about her.

"You can't ignore me forever. I meant it when I said I wouldn't leave this room until you told me about your past…"

She got close to him until he could feel the warmth of her body in his skin, trespassing through his robes and clinging to his skin, just like the smell of her shampoo that filled his nostrils: honey, like the golden shade of her eyes. He didn't even notice the fumes. His senses concentrated fully on her. It frightened him. Maybe that was why he snapped at her.

"Why the bloody hell do you care so much? You say you are my friend?! Then show it by granting my wishes and leaving me the hell alone!"

She hunched her shoulders, her mouth half-open. Her striking hazel eyes widened, but Severus distinguished a hint of fear, and that was when he realized that he had pinned her against a wall and towered over her while screaming, preventing her from escaping. He released her wrists as soon as his body recovered from the shock.

What had made him react so violently? He knew the answer. He felt like he could open up to her, and he knew he couldn't. For both of their sakes. He needed to push her away, but damn, she was like his shadow, always behind him. His snarky remarks, his scowl and sneers… She was immune to all of that. Actually, she matched him. And now he found out that not even his violent pose had made her move or yell at him. He gave her an apologetic glance, although the actual apology never left his lips.

Angelica kept breathing hard, her lip slightly trembling as she muttered, "Something is wrong with you."

Severus laughed bitterly despite the situation.

"Many things are wrong with me…"

"I don't mean it like that. I know you probably praise yourself for being so reserved, but I know you well enough to say that you would have never reacted like that if you were fine. Something's bothering you… You're stressed out. Is it because of Remus and Nymphadora? Because of these potions you never seem to complete? Because of the war?"

Severus turned his head, but Angelica cupped his chin and slowly raised her hand to his cheek. He fluttered his eyes shut and leaned into her touch, surprising them both. He seemed to seek her warmth like a small child looking for his mother's love. Seeing Severus, her savior, her dark guardian, somebody so tough, acting so vulnerable filled her with an indescribable feeling. She just wanted to make him feel better. Angelica brushed her thumb across his cheek tentatively as if fearing he would back away if she simply stroked his cheek. His vulnerability died out as soon as he opened his eyes.

He pulled her hand away and noticed her wrist was starting to show bruises in the area he had clutched. Flashbacks of his father hurting his mother popped into mind, and he felt like he was no better than him, the man he despised nearly as much as he did the Dark Lord.

Severus summoned a balm and applied the cream over the bruises, just as she had done months ago when he was the one injured.

"Thank y-"

"Don't thank me," he interrupted. "I shouldn't have bruised you in the first place."

His guilt and discomfort, his repulsion towards himself were easy to distinguish in his dark eyes.

"You really aren't feeling good... What's the matter?" she asked uncharacteristically gently, but was responded with the silent treatment.

She huffed, dropping the calm attitude.

"For God's sake, Severus! Will you tell me today or what?"

"I have just hurt you! Why don't you run away from me?!"

"Because I care for you, you, bloody fool!" she blew up, breathing hard. "I care, and I know you didn't mean to hurt me. So tell me what is bothering you so much. Please, we're friends."

He wasn't surprised at her outburst. It wasn't like he didn't expect her to explode like that. She was a hurricane of emotions. Always have, always will. No. What astonished stunned him were the words she kept repeating.

Care.

Friends.

This woman cared for him, despite his vile personality. He had hurt her, but she disregarded it because she somehow knew he hadn't meant it. Every time he hurt a friend, he lost them: Minerva when he killed Albus, Lily when he called her a mudblood. Minerva had been too hurt and horrified to listen to his justifications. Severus had apologized to Lily a thousand times, told her that it had slipped and that he hadn't meant it. Lily had never forgiven him. Angelica did, and he hadn't even said sorry, not aloud. She was a bloody muggle and she could read his mind. Not even the Dark Lord, the greatest legilimens of all times, had been able to do that. The irony.

He finally snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you? Bottling up emotions is unhealthy! You have to talk to someone, and frankly, I don't see anybody else in this room."

"And you think you are the best to give advice about feelings and emotions?" he demanded, cocking an eyebrow.

She only screamed her feelings out. She wore her feelings on her sleeve. Hardly the counsellor, to his mind.

She huffed.

"It's obvious I am not. I just meant that talking about your worries would make you feel better."

"You don't know that."

"You can't say I am wrong either. You haven't tried it."

Her words got him thinking. He recalled the questions she had asked before he had exploded. Was the war overwhelming him? That was a quite stupid question with a very evident answer. Had Remus and Tonks' arrival shaken him? A little, especially when he didn't know how long they would stay. Was the antidote he was trying to come up with yet failing miserably causing distress in him? Absolutely. Were those the only reasons he was stressed out? Not at all.

Something else had been on his mind lately. Angelica seemed to act more kindly towards him since that fateful night with Bellatrix. Saying that Severus was scared was an understatement. He was terrified of her kindness. Nobody had ever been kind to him. Only Lily, and he had developed deep feelings for her. Severus was aware that kind gestures towards him were his drug. That's why he acted so mean. That scared people away and made them act anything but nice to him. Yet, Angelica could be just as sharp as him and didn't feel intimidated by his persona, not even when she saw his Dark Mark. She had stayed. She had defended him. She had made him feel things he didn't think were possible. He found himself wanting to spend more time with her. He craved her kindness and affection.

He would have never guessed that he would ever get on well with this muggle, but skepticism grew to tolerance, and tolerance grew to attraction. Yes, he found Angelica attractive, not only her eyes. He had always found those hazel seas with golden drops stunning. No. Her looks had been average to his mind when he met her. Now he thought that everything about her was beautiful. He liked to hear her giggling. He liked to see her grin blurring the little sneer on her face. He liked to see her smiling at her sons, at her aunt or cousin. He liked that she came every day to check on him while he was in the lab, even though he always responded grumpily. He liked her scarred soul.

Angelica cleared her throat, and Severus was pulled back to reality. He looked at her, trying to maintain a neutral expression.

He couldn't explain to her that he was scared of what she made him feel, so he chose the safe path and uttered, "Lupin and I went to school together. We weren't friends, precisely. Tonks and I respected each other, but we were never friends either. I knew that they would probably visit Andromeda, but that doesn't mean I am looking forward to talking to them. As for the potions, you are on the right path. I am having trouble finding an antidote…"

He had his head down, his black hair hiding his face from her.

"An antidote for what?" she wondered, putting his locks behind his ears.

He lost his breath. People didn't touch him, even less his hair. He was a  _greasy git_ , after all. She didn't seem to mind though. Bloody hell. He was in trouble. He was falling. It was her fault. Her bloody eyes... Her bloody kindness. He needed to control his emotions. He needed to stop this. He needed to push her away before he hurt her like he did Lily, before his heart broke.

He pulled away from her and spat, "It's an antidote. That's all you need to know."

He cursed himself for not sounding as harsh as he had intended.

That was the end of their conversation. It was more revealing than Angelica had expected, so she didn't press him, not when his lips were pressed thin and a scowl was back on his face.

 


	12. Chapter 12

Angelica sought Draco, her conversation with Severus still fresh in her mind. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the sleeping twins.

"Have you met Nymphadora?" she asked, sitting next to him.

He shook his head. He had seen her once, but they hadn't even greeted each other. Hardly a meeting.

"Are you nervous?"

Draco shrugged.

Perhaps he wasn't nervous, but he was uncomfortable. He wouldn't be so quiet otherwise. Angelica frowned. Did he hate Nymphadora so much that it affected his mood? He hadn't had that lifeless look in his eyes when he met Andromeda… What was the difference now? What was the matter?

"You okay?"

He swallowed hard. Angelica thought he wouldn't answer when she heard a whisper, "I keep meeting family members when all I want to do is to be with my parents."

The lines on her face softened.

"Do you regret meeting me and my sons?"

Her voice had been incredibly soft like the times she spoke to Ezra and Samuel, like the way Narcissa used to talk to Draco when he was a child.

"No."

It staggered him how easily the word came, how honest and natural the response felt. She gave him a gentle grin.

"Good. I don't regret meeting you either." She paused and waited for him to react, to say something. He only lowered his gaze.

"You'll get through this, Draco."

"What do you know?" he snapped.

Angelica knew he was all bark and no bite, just like his godfather. He hadn't meant to speak in such a harsh tone. He was stressed out. She used to do the same when she was his age. He reminded her so much of her younger self it was scary yet comforting at the same time. In a sense, this was a chance for her. She had been lonely when her father went to prison and her mother died. No guidance. No mentor. She wouldn't let that happen to Draco. She would give him what she had needed when she had been in his place: reassurance and some affection.

She took his hand and said, "I know because you're my cousin. We may not look anything alike, but we are not so different. We are strong… And we both can be arrogant and dramatic. Poor Severus must be going crazy with us!"

Draco actually tittered and shook his head. His usually cold eyes became warmer. Angelica remembered cold nights dreaming about having somebody to support her, to hold her and tell her everything would be all right, to make her laugh. It had taken her years to learn to laugh again. But Draco had laughed.  _She_  had made him laugh.

"You know, you're my favorite cousin," she said. "I don't think Nymphadora or anyone can change that. We share too many similarities."

They both knew that what had drawn them together was the fact that both knew what losing a mother and having a father in prison was like, yet neither mentioned it. There was no need.

"You are my favorite cousin too."

He had spoken so low he doubted she had heard him. But she had.

"Despite being a muggle?"

She was looking at him intently.

He shifted in his seat. A year ago, he would have jeered if anyone told him he would talk to a real muggle, let alone befriend her and be comfortable with her. The mere thought would have been absurd.

Until the day he met her.

Back in that muggle street with a wounded Severus, Draco had trusted her because he was desperate. Desperate conditions required desperate actions. The first night in her flat, he had thought he would regret trusting her. It had not been the case.

He may not have met Nymphadora yet, but he bet that either, she would ignore them, or she wouldn't stop playing pranks on them. Her metamorphmagus ability was the perfect excuse, after all.

Draco disliked pranks. They were childish and annoying. Angelica would tease him but never play a prank on him. He teased her too, so it wasn't such a big deal. She made him laugh and feel like somebody cared for him. There were no qualms: he would rather be with Angelica than with Nymphadora, even if he didn't really know the hufflepuff witch yet.

"Despite being a muggle."

"So you don't believe in  _that_?" she asked, tilting her head towards his Dark Mark.

His face hardened. He liked Angelica. Did that mean he didn't believe muggles were inferior to wizards and witches? The response wasn't so simple. The weeks he spent in her flat had opened his eyes. Muggles had crazy inventions that could perfectly rival against magic. But he had grown up in an ambient that looked down on anybody who wasn't a pure-blood. The only exception had been Severus, a half-blood, and even then Draco knew it was because the Princes and the Malfoys had always had a good relationship.

Old habits die hard.

"I… I'm confused. You are supposed to be inferior to me, but somehow, I don't think that anymore… You are… You are my cousin," he said, bringing a tiny smile to her face.

Not like she could blame him. She had been perplexed when she found a family in the same kind of people that had taken hers away years ago. She had hated the magical world with as much intensity as in which Draco had looked down on muggles, if not more. Yet, here they were, chatting as if that part of their lives was blurry.

The door creaked and Andromeda peeked out behind it.

"Nymphadora and Remus are staying for the day. They want to properly meet you and the babies, Angelica, and they want to see you too, Draco."

He stiffed. Angelica gave him an encouraging pat that seemed to relax him, if only slightly.

Severus didn't even bother joining them despite Angelica's protests. Draco deemed it was for the best.

Saying that the meeting was awkward was a huge understatement. Draco got closer to Angelica, looking for comfort when Nymphadora sent him a suspicious glare. The muggle gathered this chit-chat would be unpleasant for them all if she didn't find a safe topic to talk about. Anything. Even if it was something trivial like the weather. As if on cue, Teddy's hair turned from sandy to blue.

"What… How… Did his hair just change colors?" spluttered Angelica, wide-eyed.

Remus looked at his son with a tender smile and then at Nymphadora, who was grinning mischievously. Two seconds later, she transfigured herself into Angelica. The real Angelica squealed and jumped in her seat, startled. The Lupins gave a little laugh, and even Andromeda smiled diverted after her daughter went back to her usual body.

"What the… Can you all wizards and witches do this?" asked Angelica, a hand on her hammering heart.

"No. Only a few like  _Dora_  and her son," growled Draco, not a trace of amusement on his angular features. "You could have been gentler or warned her before doing  _that_. She's a muggle."

Nymphadora rolled her eyes.

"It was a joke."

"It wasn't funny. You really scared her."

His grey eyes turned fiery, his voice dangerously low. Remus and Nymphadora frowned.

" _Aunt_  Narcissa didn't want to talk to my mother because she married a muggle-born. Your father was even worse. I know you bullied muggle-borns at Hogwarts. So tell me, since when do you care for a muggle?"

He clenched his fists. He knew he wouldn't like Nymphadora.

"I care since she saved mine and my godfather's life."

Silence filled the room.

Angelica's expression softened. Her hand almost reached for his, but he had already risen up.

"Excuse me. I'm not feeling good. I'm going to my room."

With that said, he left.

Angelica made to go after him, but Andromeda put a hand on her shoulder and whispered he needed time. The muggle gulped and glanced at Nymphadora and Remus, both with identical regretful looks.

"I wanted to break the ice. I didn't mean to frighten you or piss him off," apologized Nymphadora.

Angelica nodded. She knew Andromeda would like her and Nymphadora to at least be civil with each other, and she understood the need her cousin had had to joke and break the ice. The air had been too tense.

"Don't worry. That was awesome, actually. You just caught me unprepared… Tell me, how do you change your appearance?"

Everything ran smoothly from there. Nymphadora was actually funny and vivacious. Now Angelica saw why Severus wouldn't like the witch. They were too different. Remus wasn't as talkative as his wife, but he was quite polite and his eyes were kind. The scars on his face would have scared her a few months ago, but not now, not when her own arms had scars. Curious as she was, she knew better than to ask him about them.

"Tell him… Tell Draco that I am sorry and that I wish we can talk when I come again…" she said, taking some floo powder.

"And tell Snape we won't tell the Order…" added her husband. "You are safe here."

Angelica gave them a tiny smile and watched them go.

Moments later, she was in Draco's room. He was reading on the bed, legs flexed, the book on his knees. He shot his head up when the door creaked, alarmed. When he registered it was Angelica, he unstiffened.

"They've left… Nymphadora says she is sorry. She'd like you to stay the next time she visits us."

He snorted. She'd come back? Joy.

"Don't you want to have dinner?"

"I'm not hungry."

Angelica bit her bottom lip.

"Right… I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate the way you defended me… It meant a lot… And you are still my favorite cousin. Definitively."

Angelica didn't miss his victorious grin.

The Lupins kept visiting them throughout the winter season. The lab was Severus's perfect spot to hide whenever they came. Not meeting them meant no quarrels. That was everything he wanted. Sometimes, he stayed enclosed in a room with Draco, who didn't really feel comfortable around his hufflepuff cousin. Even though their visits were sporadic and brief, they were frequent enough to make Angelica see the Lupins as part of her new family, especially Nymphadora. They could talk about motherhood while Teddy, Ezra and Samuel played together. Hearing the twins squeal in delight when Teddy altered the color of his eyes or his hair to mirror theirs was Angelica's favorite part of the day.

* * *

 

Draco woke up and raised the blind. He cocked his head, eyes squinting, molested by the sunlight that came through the window. Eventually, his eyes adjusted to the light, and he looked outside. The tree from the garden was beginning to grow its leaves again. A few flowers were blossoming. The smell of recently rained grass harbored him when he opened the window. The weather wasn't as freezing.

Spring had come at last.

Many people were keen on spring. Yet, Draco could only think that he had spent another season without knowing anything about his parents. He just wanted everything to end, no matter how comfortable he felt with Angelica, how safe he felt with Severus, and how entertained he was with Samuel and Ezra.

Some hurried steps came from the corridor, and he knew Angelica was going to make her daily visit to the lab.

She found Severus writing something. Why would he use ink and parchment when simple pens and papers worked more efficiently? It was one of the thousand wizarding things she would never comprehend.

"Can you help me with the babies?"

He lifted an eyebrow and met her vivacious hazel eyes, only they weren't as vivacious as usual. Her palm was on her forehead. Was she overwhelmed? Did she have a headache? Either way, she had captured his attention.

"What's the matter?" he asked, setting the quill aside.

"They are feeling under the weather today. Andromeda's at Dora's place, babysitting Teddy. I don't want to bother Draco with ill babies… I don't really want to bother you either, but I am really worried about my sons. I don't know if it's grave enough to call the doctor."

Severus sighed. He just couldn't say no to her when she looked at him with those eyes of hers. He gave her an almost imperceptible nod and exited the lab.

Angelica watched in awe as he passed his wand over Samuel and Ezra in deep concentration and elegant moves. Like a dance. She was absorbed in his hands, large yet long-fingered. For a moment, she envisaged him caressing her cheek while his thumb traced her lips, then descended to her neck and cleavage and cupped her—

"They have a fever," he interrupted her fantasies and summoned a flask. "Two daily doses of this potion for three days will suffice."

A fever.

Damn.

"Is this potion safe for my babies?"

He wanted to snort. Did she believe he would suggest the potion if it wasn't safe? He may have killed a man, but he would never poison two babies. Until then, he had thought she was one of the very few people who didn't see him like a monster. But then her worried eyes pierced him, and any snarky remark he was about to make died somewhere between his brain and his mouth. She had merely asked because mother instinct had kicked in. He saw it then. He sighed and forced himself to speak soothingly, even if some firmness was still palpable.

"My mother used to brew potions and sell them as homemade remedies to the neighbors to earn a little money. I guarantee you, this potion is safe for babies. Muggles can't brew them, but they can drink them. Ezra and Samuel should be fine in brief."

He offered them some drops of a yellowish beverage that supposedly reduced fever. Suppressing a grin was a titanic struggle for Severus, principally when Samuel smiled up at him and wrapped his hand around his bony finger as if thanking him and telling him he was feeling fine again. At the end, he didn't smile. Leastwise, the dictionary's definition didn't describe the weird face he pulled with his lips painfully stretched out as a smile. But Angelica knew better. Here he was, a wizard hated by the entire wizarding community for killing a man and ex-spy on the run for trying to save his own godson being disarmed by an innocent baby. Life was ironic.

"Thank you," she muttered loud enough for him to hear.

He gave her a nod, his gaze fixed on the twins to ensure the potion worked accordingly.

"You'd be a good father, you know?"

He made a choking sound.

"That's a lot of hogwash," he finally replied, meeting her eyes.

Angelica frowned.

"Why do you think so? Samuel likes you, and so does Ezra."

"I'm a Death Eater," he muttered darkly.

" _Former_ Death Eater," she stressed. "And so what? That has nothing to do with being a good parent."

Severus stared at her intently, reading her thoughts without drawing on legilimency. Angelica sucked in a short intake of breath, but didn't back down, not even a little. No. Ignoring her racing heartbeat, she held his gaze and waited for him to make a move.

"I am not their father. I'll never be, no matter how much you try to involve me in their lives."

His voice was unemotional, but the coldness didn't reach his eyes. If Angelica hadn't blinked, she would have detected a hint of envy in them.

"I know you aren't their father. I happen to remember with whom I  _sleep_."

Did she have to lay emphasis on the last word? Now Severus pictured himself taking her to bed and undressing her, touching her, making her scream his name in an urgent need, letting her touch him until nothing else in the world existed but her and the pleasure she provided him. No matter how much he tried to control it, the heat rose to his cheeks. He hoped she didn't notice. He hated his pale skin. It made his blush much more evident. Anyhow, she didn't comment on his rosy cheeks. Only the babblings of the babies cracked the tense silence that had swept over them.

"Where is their father?"

Angelica froze. She stifled the impulse to tell him it wasn't his business. After all, she had told him they were friends and he had acceded to tell him about Remus and Nymphadora, even if grumpily. He had been helping her and the babies for months. He deserved the truth.

"I don't know."

Severus quirked an eyebrow at the vague answer.

She rolled her eyes. And people said women liked gossiping. Men liked it just as much.

"He seemed like a decent guy until I got pregnant. He left when I told him the news. He wants nothing to do with the children."

Her voice was flat, but her eyes looked slightly glittery. Obviously, she was still hurt, but was she hurt because she had been rejected, or because the babies wouldn't meet their father? Most likely both. He wanted to tell her that muggle that had done this to her and to the children was a bloody fool. He wanted to tell her that it was his loss, but he was only capable of mumbling three pathetic words.

"I am sorry."

"Don't be. He was a bastard. Apparently, it's a curse of mine. I always fall in love with bastards, mainly when they have black hair, skillful hands and a sarcastic sense of humor."

The golden grains in her hazel eyes seared. She was looking at him meaningfully, and Severus was at a loss. Was she insinuating something? He remembered the way she looked at his half-naked form when Draco disappeared in Upper Barnton, the way she had opened up to him after she got her scars, the way she stroked his cheek and touched his greasy hair with no trace of disgust on her face. He hadn't really given that much of a thought though. He had had a few flings, but when it came to romantic relationships, he was oblivious of the other's affections towards him.  _You are reading too much into insignificant signs,_  he used to tell himself.  _Nobody will ever love you_. That didn't stop him from fantasizing or falling, if his rapid pulse and respiration weren't of any indication.

"What about you?" she wondered.

"Me?"

"You have never mentioned a woman, or a  _man_ , for the matter."

"I'm straight," he hissed, raising an eyebrow at the implication.

She smirked. She had intuited the answer before asking the question. She had merely teased him and dug up the bit of information she required, and he had fallen for it. Damn this muggle!

"So Mr.  _Straight_ , do you have a girlfriend? A fiancé? A wife, even?"

His eyes narrowed. So she wanted to tease him? Two could play at that game.

"Are you  _jealous_  of her?"

She trapped a curl of her brown hair and twirled it around her fingers mindlessly as her crooked smile enlarged.

"Would you like me to be jealous?"

His breathing was interrupted for a second. His tactic had backfired on him… or had it? Hadn't he looked for a bit of flirting when he asked that question? Was this even flirting? What was going on? For once in his life, Severus was speechless, unsure of how to proceed. Angelica giggled then, and Severus felt lighter despite his obvious embarrassment.

"There isn't a woman, is there?" she asked, the last gurgles subsiding.

"No," he replied flatly.

She made a humming sound and flashed him a content grin. Was that another sign she was interested in him? Was he reading too much into it again?

"Well, call me selfish, but I am glad you are single," she said as she moved forward towards him.

Their noses nearly bumped. His gaze focused on her mouth rather than her eyes for once. He shouldn't have done so. Angelica chewed on her lips. How he wished he was the one chewing on her lips. How dangerous that thought was. He couldn't even think clearly when her hot breath hit his face. He wanted to take a step back, but his body had another agenda and remained immobile. If he hadn't known any better, he would have suspected she had used a love potion on him.

"Why do you care about my civil status?"

"Because I can finally do something I've meant to do for a long time…"

Angelica tilted her head and leaned in, but stalled before their lips actually brushed. She wanted to give him a chance to back away.

He didn't.

That was enough to encourage the muggle to crush her plump lips against his thin ones. His whole body became rigid. His eyes closed, savoring the moment and tasting new feelings he had never experienced before. She moved her lips, but Severus remained fixed. Angelica poked the tip of her tongue and glided it across his bottom lip, willing him to kiss her back. He surrendered the moment her hand curled in his black hair. The sensation of her fingers in his hair, the object of mockery back when he was a teenager, the object that now this muggle seemed to adore, was undeniably exquisite. Hadn't she said she liked bastards with black hair earlier, or was it just his imagination? Who cared? He didn't want her to stop. This was so wrong. Severus knew it. But damn it all! It felt tremendously good. In fact, it felt like ages since he had felt so at peace, so warm. He still couldn't grasp why she'd do something like this. He still knew he should be pulling her away. That didn't stop him from opening his mouth and granting her permission to explore his mouth while he did the same to hers.

Severus grew bolder as the time went by, and his spidery fingers traced down her spine. She responded to his touch, pressing harder into him, tugging at his hair. A low whimper was heard, and it took him a while to recognize it as his own. What was she doing to him? Why couldn't he control his body? He had been a spy, for Merlin's sake!

Angelica smiled against his lips, not really breaking the kiss, and nibbled his bottom lip. Now he moaned again. He had no doubt it was him, yet another throaty sound followed next, too high-pitched to belong to him. Did that mean she was enjoying this too? Afraid of the answer, Severus shut his mind and focused solely on her, on the bewitching smell of her honeyed shampoo and her fingers massaging his scalp. What if this never happened again? For all he knew, this could be a dream. He might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

A wail.

She broke the kiss with a groan. Severus cursed internally. Of course this was bound to happen. It was too good to be true. Angelica shot an apologetic glance and picked Ezra up. She rocked him, hoping he would hush and she could continue what she and Severus had started.

A minute later, there were no baby cries in the room. She smiled and spun around. Severus was no longer there. Her face fell.

Angelica found him not in the lab, but in his own room.

"Why did you run away?"

Not even a glance from him.

"Am I such a bad kisser?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

Silence. The vein in her neck was beginning to throb.

"Don't you dare ignore me. What's wrong? I thought we were fine."

She only got a scowl as a response. Far from giving up, Angelica approached him and lifted his chin to meet his eyes. Much to his dismay, he leaned into her, eyes closed, a hint of vulnerability that didn't last longer than a second. His jaw clenched. Their gazes locked.

"I enjoyed the kiss. Didn't you?"

Pain flicked in his eyes, but only for a second. It had occurred so rapidly that Angelica assumed her mind was playing tricks on her. He grew cold then, colder than ever. He jerked his head out of her touch as if she had burned him. A hand gesture to indicate she should go away, and the door slammed shut.

She would have banged until he let her in and then snogged the hell out of him until he gave up and kissed her back, but she knew it would only aggravate matters. Kissing him had been a disastrous mistake. They had come a long way from not standing each other to being friends. Dreaming about being something more had been hazardous, and actually giving it a chance had erased all the effort put into their friendship. She had screwed up.

* * *

 

Draco's attitude had been down since spring came, and he didn't open up to anybody in the house. Not talking to either Severus or Draco was sheer torture for Angelica.

One afternoon she entered her cousin's room. He was looking through the window, a pensive and nostalgic expression painted on his face.

"Hey. Are you okay?" she asked, getting close to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched.

"I'm fine," he said more brusquely than intended.

At least he had spoken, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes.

"Sure, you are."

"Just leave me the hell alone!"

"No. Not until you tell me what's wrong with you."

He didn't speak. He didn't even look at her.

"I care for you, okay? I am worried. Severus doesn't talk to me. You don't talk to me. I have Andromeda and the kids, but I got used to our chit-chats. I miss them. So tell me what the matter is."

Draco felt a warm feeling when he heard Angelica acknowledging she cared for him. It was something that only his parents had ever told him. It meant even more to him since he was aware Angelica was someone who acted upon emotions but wasn't one to confess them much.

"I miss my parents. I miss Hogwarts. Flying. Quidditch."

"You don't like it here."

"I like you and the twins, and I always felt safe around Snape… Aunt Andromeda isn't half as bad as I thought. We are not so awkward. Still, I miss my life. It's been months since I last saw my parents. I just want this bloody war to end."

She kept mute for a long time, thinking thoroughly the right words to tell him.

"I missed my parents a lot when I was your age…"

He swallowed hard.

"How did you cope with it?"

She shrugged.

"I told myself that there would be brighter days and carried on."

"And now you are on the run, hiding from our crazy Aunt." He snorted, "You lied to yourself."

Angelica shook her head.

"It is true that these aren't the best conditions, but I didn't lie to myself. My days did turn brighter."

Draco met her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"I have two sons and a new family, including a lost teenager who has an obsession with Disney films," she teased.

"I'm  _not_  obsessed," he stressed, but he couldn't fight back a grin.

It was tiny, but it was there, and he didn't feel so blue when Angelica let him hold Ezra. She had given him hope. If she had survived and found beauty even when everything seemed to go against her, he could follow her example. After all, they were cousins, and they had something more than blood in common: a sense to keep holding on, of self-preservation.

"You'll see your parents again, Draco."

A few minutes ago he would have snorted. Now he believed there was a little chance to see them.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Severus didn't speak to Angelica after the kiss, not to her or to anyone for the matter. In fact, he only paid attention to the babies when he gave them the right dose of potion against fever, averting their gazes as he did so. As most newborns, their eyes had been blueish. Now though, they were identical to their mother's: hazel with golden stains. A torture. Fate's hobby was mocking him. First, he had to endure Potter's eyes,  _Lily's_  eyes. Now, the twins. Double pain.

Every time Angelica glimpsed at Severus, the kiss passed through her mind. She was strong enough to bear it for a week, no longer. She needed to talk to him, discuss why a single kiss had drifted them apart or she'd go crazy. Hence, she entered the lab, only to be ignored by him. Mulish as she was, she folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall. Eventually, he'd grow tired of her and talk to her, even if it was to get her out. Fifteen minutes later, he grunted and snapped that he liked working  _alone_. Angelica left the lab with a little smile on her face. He had  _noticed_  her and he hadn't explicitly told her he didn't wish to talk, so she would be able to approach him when he wasn't brewing. At least, she hoped he'd be in a good mood to work things out.

So much for that.

If Angelica smiled at him, he turned his head or dropped his gaze. If she touched his arm, he recoiled. If she asked him an innocent question, he made a snarky remark. Everything she did was to get close to him while everything he did was to push her away, both willing to play this game until the other surrendered. What they didn't comprehend was that both were equally dogged and that this game would be interminable.

Draco, on the other hand, wasn't so blind. That's why after a notably tense dinner, he tugged at Andromeda's sleeve and whispered, "This has to stop."

Andromeda looked askance at the direction Draco was tilting his head towards, a screaming Angelica and a sneering Severus. She met his worried grey eyes and sighed.

"It's not our business. They must solve whatever happened on their own."

He rolled his eyes. He had predicted a similar reaction from his aunt.

"Well, they aren't doing a great job at it, are they?"

Andromeda didn't have an answer for that, so she lowered her head.

"They need a little push. We should talk to them," he insisted.

The truth was that the situation was almost insupportable. She would have agreed to talk to them, but there was one problem.

"Severus won't listen."

"I'll deal with him. Talk to Angelica."

That's how Andromeda found herself knocking on her door and sneaking into the room.

Hopeful hazel eyes turned dull. Obviously, Angelica had expected someone else, someone with a big hooked nose, a silky voice and a permanent sneer, dressed in black. Still, she jerked her head to indicate she should sit down next to her, on the bed edge.

"What's happened with Severus? I know he isn't the talkative type, but he seemed to be comfortable around you. Now he isn't," Andromeda said cautiously.

Angelica bit her bottom lip, debating whether she should scream and let her frustration out or keep the story to herself and avoid another drama.

As if sensing her dilemma, Andromeda added, "You can rely on me. I am your aunt. I would never hurt you."

She was cupping her face the same way her mother used to do when she had a problem and refused to talk about it even though that was what she needed deep down. Her mother's hands were always cold, even in summer, whereas Andromeda's were warm, so the feeling wasn't entirely the same. Still, if Angelica closed her eyes, she could pretend Andromeda was her mother, the person she had missed ever since she was fifteen. That was enough to confess she had made a mistake in such an uncharacteristically fragile voice it frightened Andromeda.

"What kind of mistake?" she demanded, putting her hands on her lap.

"The kind that wrecks friendships."

Angelica was known for overreacting, and Severus could be quite melodramatic. Andromeda had assumed that both were exaggerating and that whatever had happened wasn't that important. By her niece's defeated tone though, that didn't seem to be the case. Besides, Severus wasn't the kind to let go of friendships. Rumors of the way he had threatened to spend the night waiting for his muggle-born friend to apologize had circulated and reached her even though she wasn't at school by those times. Severus  _fought_  for friendships. Yet, he was the one running away from Angelica, not the other way around. Something big must have happened between them.

"What did you do, exactly?" she asked, frowning.

Angelica shifted in her seat and averted her gaze. There was a long pause, so long that Andromeda became convinced she would never know. She was about to rise from the bed and tell Draco she had tried when her fragile voice halted her.

"I kissed him."

"Oh," was all Andromeda could say, unable to move.

Severus was reserved and subtle, so she couldn't tell what went through his mind, let alone his heart. Angelica was an open book though, and she had noticed the way she looked at Severus, the subtle touches she gave him, the grins that broadened ever so slightly when she saw him. Yes, she had intuited her niece had feelings for the Potions Master, but she would have never thought he would let her go as far as kissing him.

"Were you playing at husbands and wives again?" she joked, hoping to soothe her flustered niece.

Angelica huffed and, if she hadn't felt so tired, she would have taken a pillow and hit her with it.

"Well? How was it?"

"How was  _what_?"

"The kiss," urged Andromeda.

Did she really expect her to talk about  _that_  with her?

"What are we? Teenagers in high school?" she asked, making her aunt chuckle.

Angelica froze. That laughter, loud and high-pitched… She had heard it before coming from her mother, Ella. Her touch had been slightly different, but not this. Their laughter was identical. That's when she realized Andromeda was the closest mother figure she currently had. Talking about her feelings with her didn't sound so bad.

"He helped me with the babies, and we started to flirt. At least, I thought we were flirting, so I kissed him, and he kissed me back. I… It felt amazing. The thing is that Ezra began to cry. When I calmed him down, Severus wasn't there anymore. He's been pushing me away ever since."

Andromeda furrowed her brow.

"Are you sure he kissed you back?"

Angelica actually remembered every detail of their kiss: his potion smell mixed with his aftershave, his long fingers caressing her back, his bow-shaped lips moving in synchrony with hers, the sounds that escaped his throat... Not only had he kissed her back, he had enjoyed it, or so she suspected, even though she couldn't grasp why he ran away from her.

"Positive."

"Then you aren't the problem," her aunt said with a lopsided smile. "It's him. Severus isn't used to interacting with women who show a real interest in him."

"So I scared him off?"

"Most likely," Andromeda said, suppressing a laugh at the confused face she pulled.

On the other side of the house, Draco was trying to start a similar conversation with Severus, a challenging task. Angelica was far more talkative than Severus. She could be grumpy, but nothing compared to his godfather.

"What happened to you and Angelica?"

That was the sixth time he had asked the question. He expected more silence but was staggered by Severus actually speaking, maybe because he was beginning to lose his patience and he fathomed Draco wouldn't leave until he opened his mouth.

"Ask her."

Not the words the boy had been seeking.

"No. I want you to tell me," he pressed. "I thought you two were on good terms, especially since the incident with Aunt Bella."

Severus didn't affirm nor deny it.

"You're adults, meaning you are supposed to be able to solve whatever happened on your own. Obviously, I overestimated you. You aren't even able to tell your own  _godson_  what happened."

Severus sneered, "I do not have to discuss anything with  _you_ , godson or not."

"No, you don't, but Andromeda is talking to Angelica right now. If you don't tell me your version, I will only know hers. I need the whole story."

"To do what?" he asked, not really surprised about Andromeda and Draco scheming against their backs.

"To help you see that sulking leads to nowhere. Trust me, I've done it more than once, and it isn't the best way to clear up problems."

"I'm. not. sulking."

Draco limited to raise an eyebrow that told him he was sulking in that very moment. Severus realized it but didn't say anything out loud. His pride didn't allow it.

"Will you tell me your version, or should I wait for Angelica's? Anyway, I will find out what happened."

Severus had threatened him with very similar words that one time Draco had planned to meet his parents after finding out the prisoners had escaped from Azkaban. Now the roles were reversed and the boy suppressed the urge to let out a bitter chuckle.

"This actually seems a lovers' quarrel," huffed Draco.

One glance at the flushed cheeks Severus tried to hide under his black hair and Draco twigged.

"So it doesn't seem one. It  _is_  one. You fancy my cousin. What happened between you two?"

"Get. Out," he growled in a warning tone.

"I won't until you tell me," he pressed, folding his arms across his chest.

Severus rubbed his temples, his patience inexistent by then.

"I will  _not_  discuss my love life with anybody."

Draco smirked.

"So I am right. You have feelings for her."

Severus became exposed all of a sudden, like Draco had never seen. He may be the greatest occlumens, but right then, he wasn't able to mask the pain and impotence in his eyes. He resembled a lost child. It was such an unusual sight that Draco felt both, guilty and uncomfortable for reducing the stern Potions Master to this. Bit by bit, the smirk disappeared from the boy's angular face. Andromeda had been right. Talking to his godfather hadn't been his cleverest idea. Draco stammered an apology, and that was enough to bring a scowl back to his face, any proof he had shown vulnerability erased. He didn't wish to screw up even more, so he gave Severus one last apologetic look and said sorry again before shutting the door.

* * *

 

Andromeda and Draco knew what the issue was now, but they couldn't tackle it themselves. Therefore, the following morning they took Samuel and Ezra for a stroll along the nearest park and left Angelica and Severus alone at home. They left a note to let them know they wouldn't get home until late. Thus, they'd have time to talk and, luckily, Andromeda and Draco would find them reconciled.

When Severus read the message, he crinkled his mouth and enclosed himself in the lab. As if he had asked to them to leave him with Angelica. That didn't help him one bit. On the contrary, it got him out of his comfort zone. Angelica, on the other hand, felt like she had a chance to make up. She would have hugged Andromeda and Draco if she could.

A step into the lab and a bark ordered her to leave. Not like she complied. Stubborn as ever and with a determined look on her face, Angelica approached Severus until she was invaded his personal space. He could feel her warmth even though she wasn't touching him. Plus, that smell of honey intoxicated him and distracted him from chopping potion ingredients, very inadvisable at the time of brewing potions. The tiniest mistake, and the cauldron would explode as if he was Neville Longbottom instead of Severus Snape. He had to act fast and push her away, so he drew upon his most efficient tactic: meanness and coldness.

"You are wasting my time. I read the bloody note. Despite what my godson and his aunt reckon, we have  _nothing_  to talk about."

"Fine. We won't talk."

Granted, that sly grin on her face should have told him she was up to something, but he had had no time to process the thought. Her lips were already pressed on his, her hands on his cheeks. He pulled away as soon as he realized what was going on, his pupils dilated.

She wasn't touching him and the kiss had lasted for only three seconds, yet the skin of his cheeks burned and his lips tingled. Hazel eyes flitted from his mouth to his eyes, filled with desire like they had never been, not even when she had stared at his half-naked form when Draco escaped. His knees weakened. His lungs didn't even remember how to breathe. His strong will was enfeebling. This time, when she grabbed his collar and crushed their lips, he didn't object. It had been far too long since he had been with a woman, and he just couldn't think clearly when she curled her fingers into his hair. The little rational part that still operated wondered if she was aware of it and did it on purpose.

They snogged for what felt like an eternity. Soft whimpers escaping them both, hands caressing everywhere, tongues exploring mouths as if they had no time in the world, desperately, hungrily. They only pulled back to breathe, and that was when Severus realized he had somehow unbuttoned her shirt in their frenzy. His own white shirt was half-buttoned, his black robes already rolled up on the floor. Angelica stared at his chest, bit her bottom lip and tiptoed to kiss him again, but he put his hands on her shoulders and softly pulled her away before her lips reached his.

"What's wrong?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

"I can't do this."

His voice held remorse and hurt, but also longing.

"Why?" she breathed out.

"You are a muggle. I am a wizard. It would never work."

There was a part of him that wished Angelica would see right through his lie and contradict him, but she appeared offended.

A sudden fury flooded her, and she couldn't help but recriminate in a wounded tone, "So you are a  _real_  Death Eater underneath… You believe muggles are inferior, filth."

Now he was the one offended.

"I thought you knew I don't believe that."

He spoke slowly, lowly, keeping eye-contact. Angelica knew he wasn't lying. She had learnt to detect lies miles away since that little lesson he gave him after the incident with Bellatrix.

"Then why are you so against…  _us_?"

She was waiting for him to admit that he was scared of her and the feelings she provoked in him, just like Andromeda had told her, but he didn't, at least, not openly.

"My mother was a witch who married a muggle and it didn't end well."

She rolled her eyes.

"It didn't work for them. So what? That doesn't mean we can't try."

He looked in pain, eyes shut, shoulders hunched.

"You don't understand," he muttered so low he thought she hadn't heard him, but she had.

"Then help me understand! Stop giving me excuses and tell me why the hell you believe we can't be together!"

"Because I don't want to lose you! I won't go through that again!" he blew up, breathing hard.

Angelica gaped, trying to make sense of his words.

"Again? What do you mean?"

Severus gulped, unsure about telling her. But then her chin jutted and her eyes squinted. He knew her well enough to grasp she was getting mad, her patience running thin. The last thing he wanted was to face an aroused, enraged Angelica. He wouldn't be able to resist her then. Telling the truth was the only way to avoid that.

"I lost the woman I loved once… I don't want to go through that again."

So that was what he feared. He hadn't really revealed what had happened, and she wouldn't ask him to remember agonizing memories. There was no need. His pain and suffering were so strong that Angelica could almost feel them, the fire that had blazed went out as soon as those words were pronounced. If he didn't want to lose the woman he loved again, it meant he loved her, didn't it?  _But then again, why would he love a disgrace like me?_ she thought while her fingertips unconsciously traced her disgrace-lettered scar on her arm.

A lump formed in her throat, but she managed to ask, "Why do you think you will lose me?"

What he said next left her breathless.

"I destroy everything I touch…"

She gulped. His eyes were so intense, they held so much hate and self-loath that she was taken aback.

"I'm not afraid of you. You won't destroy me…" she finally whispered, putting a hand on his arm.

"We are in a war!" he cried out, breaking free from her. "If I don't destroy you, the war will! Bellatrix knows about you, and I am sure she isn't the only one. In fact, I am sure that you are being chased by Death Eaters, especially after killing Greyback. You are in danger."

"So are you," she reminded him. "You betrayed your Lord."

"And I will probably pay my betrayal with my life. I don't want to drag you and your sons down my fate. Andromeda will keep you safe when I am gone. Starting a relationship when I know I will give you pain and end up dead makes no sense."

She shook her head.

"Why are you so sure you won't survive? We have survived so far, all thanks to you. You're an intelligent man. You'll think of something…"

He snorted.

"I'm not so intelligent… I've been months searching for an antidote against a serpent's poison, and I still haven't got it right… The Dark Lord's pet. He likes to use her to murder."

She stared hard at him and gulped. An antidote against his imminent death. That was what he was trying to brew, what he had hidden from her. He lowered his gaze and waited for her to speak. She didn't, and Severus was about to give up and pretend this conversation never occurred when he noticed Angelica had removed her shirt, leaving her half-naked waist up bar her white bra.

His cheeks flushed. He sucked in a short intake of breath and turned his head, averting the tempting sight. Nevertheless, Angelica got closer to him and resumed to unfasten the last buttons of his shirt, flinging it away and leaving him half-naked and out of breath.

"Angelica…" he whispered in a warning tone, fighting against his own body.

He wanted her. He wanted her so badly and she wasn't making things easier for him, not when she traced feather light kisses along his jawbone, not when her hands explored his chest. Her warm, tanned skin, against his cool, pale skin contrasted greatly, yet the scars on their bodies linked them. They fitted, and that frightened him.

"Angelica," he said again, this time in a begging tone.

She interpreted it as a sign he needed more physical contact, so she aimed to kiss his mouth, but he jerked his head and her lips landed on his cheek instead.

"We can't," he husked, sheer agony in his eyes.

"Of course we can!" she cried out, throwing her hands up, reminding him of the ferocious, loud Angelica he had first met when he was wounded. "You are convinced we won't survive! Well, I don't want any of us dead before experiencing  _this_!"

Her ardent kiss breached his defences. His rational thought got lost. He cursed and blessed the woman simultaneously while she crushed him against the nearest wall. She had always had a talent for getting under his skin.

* * *

 

Heavy breathing filled the laboratory. Angelica unwrapped her legs from his waist, although she was still trapped between his body and the wall. It wasn't like she cared. She felt protected, cared for. She actually gave him a smile, so pure and genuine Severus had never thought she had ever looked as beautiful as she did right then, except when she met her sons for the first time, perhaps.

Angelica buried her head on his shoulder and traced patterns on his back with one hand while she played with his hair with the other. It relaxed him so much he shut his eyes and allowed himself a moment of utter bliss and satisfaction and let his mind wander.

What would a life with Angelica and her two babies be like? A world with no wars, no Voldemort. The twins would surely be little tremors like their mother. They'd stress him more often than not, but surely, if Angelica ran her fingers through his hair and teased him after a long day, the stress would be so worth it. Besides, every time Ezra or Samuel smiled at him, so unafraid, he felt his heart swelling pleasantly. Would he enjoy waking up to two twins with hazel and goldish eyes jumping in his bed, a bed he would share with the woman that was currently trapped between his weight and the wall? Would he enjoy cooking for Angelica to apologize after an argument? Making love to her after making sure the kids were asleep? Having a family? It was everything that he had craved as a child and that he had thought he didn't need until she saw Angelica with her children.

He hated that a bastard had hurt her and left her alone with the children, but a selfish part of him thanked him with all his scarred soul. He would have never known what having a friend, somebody who truly cared for, defended, and accepted him was like; what making love, not having sex, felt like.

Kisses down his throat and collarbone distracted him from his thoughts. Merlin. Sex had been a mechanism to relieve his needs, nothing more. The few times he had been with a woman, there had been no cuddles or exchanged words after the act. With Angelica though, he felt so at peace he didn't want the moment to end.

Finally, he let out a tiny grin as he took her by the waist and brought her closer to him. Angelica squealed in surprise at the unexpected affection she surely welcomed. They stayed embraced in peaceful quietness, in a bubble that protected them from the outer, chaotic world until common sense struck Severus, that is.

"Are you okay?" she wondered after noticing his body stiffening, looking up at him with worried eyes and stroking his cheek.

Shit. He was leaning into her again even though he knew it was wrong. Why was she so kind and caring? Didn't she see she was complicating everything? Severus cursed his body for being incapable of complying with the simplest instructions of his brain: getting away from her.

Eventually, he summoned up the strength to put some distance between them, enough to see each other's faces, enough to feel cold.

"This was a mistake," he said as he began to get dressed.

Angelica snorted, "Of course you'd say that."

Under her reproaching tone, Severus distinguished hurt. He had hurt her, just like he knew he would if anything happened between them.

"You used me. You just wanted a good shag. I thought you were different," she finished bitterly, putting her clothes on.

His black eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't let her think that, not when it couldn't be further from the truth.

"I  _pay_  for shags. I didn't use you. This meant something to me," he said, putting a rebel curly lock behind her ear.

She shoved him on the chest, making him hit the lab desk, full of potion ingredients, knifes and cauldrons. He clutched the edge of the desk to keep his balance and thanked Merlin nothing fell off.

"How dare you say  _that_? If it meant something, you wouldn't have said it was a mistake!"

He gulped at her harsh voice, unable to look at anything but the undeniable fury that was blazing in her eyes, unable to articulate the real reason it had meant something to him: he was falling in love with her scarred soul. Severus felt drawn to her like a moth to a flame, but he wasn't the moth. He was the flame, and if he wasn't careful, he would burn the moth, destroy her. He destroyed everything he touched. He had told her, but she hadn't listened, and he had been weak. He should have never allowed it, but it was too late now.

"You cannot get too attached to me. Eventually, the Dark Lord will find me, and I will die. If you are too close to me by the time that happens, they will find you and kill you too. They already have their reasons to chase you. Don't give them another one."

"Stop thinking you will die, goddammit! All of us will someday! It's part of being human, but we don't pity ourselves and push away the people we care about! Don't do this to me! Don't do this to yourself! Please don't be afraid of this!"

He almost surrendered to her pleas when she caressed his back and kissed his jawbone, almost made love to her again.

"Losing a friend is hard. Losing a lover is unbearable. I don't want this pain for you. We can't be together. We won't."

He didn't dare to look her in the eye while he pronounced that speech in fear of what he would find in her hazel orbs with golden specks. Her warm lips left his jaw. She walked out the laboratory. A bang resonated shortly after, and Severus was sure it had been Angelica slamming her bedroom door.

His heart sank.

Severus forced himself to ignore the soft weeps that came from her bedroom and entered the bathroom. He looked himself in the mirror and felt even more repulsed by himself than usual, uglier. Telling himself he had done the right thing over and over again didn't convince his heart, but it was enough to appease his mind. The right thing wasn't the easiest one, after all. He had learnt that the hard way. Angelica wouldn't suffer so much after his death if they remained only friends or if she grew to hate him. He had hurt too many people in his life. That had to stop. He would rather stand her anger than start a relationship with her and really break her. It was his duty to her heart. His own heart didn't matter.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Tense.

That's how the following months could be described as.

Needless to say, Draco and Andromeda's plot did not go as planned. Angelica had not concealed her anger and disappointment ever since her argument with Severus. She pouted, spoke in a cutting way or averted his eyes. Years of practiced Occlumency made it relatively easy for him to put a neutral mask on and pretend her attitude didn't affect him, but it did, for his mind kept coming up with constant comparisons between Angelica and Lily. Both had been his friend. Both had been kind to him. Both had ignored him after a tense dispute. Until then, Severus had been so convinced that Angelica wasn't like Lily. She knew he had killed and didn't care he scowled so much or liked the company of a book rather than the company of people. She had always been there, by his side, despite his flaws. Lily had abandoned him. It seemed Angelica had reached her limit and was now following Lily's path. With Lily, he had apologized a thousand times. He hadn't tried with Angelica. He was sorry she had reacted like that. He didn't regret his decision though. She and her children would be safe. The rest didn't matter.

What Severus didn't grasp was that every time Angelica saw his robes disappearing into his lab to enclose himself, her heart ached. Granted, she was aware that she was at fault for giving him the silent treatment, but the thick air between them sickened her. The more distance she put, the more she missed him and realized her feelings for him wouldn't change. She was still in love with him.

One week.

That was how long she bore that pain.

Draco and Andromeda couldn't stand the silent war originated by a kiss and complicated by a frenzy of passion. Thus, when Angelica came to them and asked to take care of the twins while she tried to make peace and talk to Severus, nephew and aunt sighed in relief.

After so much animosity, the last thing Severus had expected to find in his lab first thing in the morning was a smiling Angelica. Her grin was shy. It didn't suit her. It could only mean she was nervous, and coming from such a blunt woman, the thought didn't calm him down. At a loss of what to do, he stood still, black eyes boring into her.

"I was hoping we could talk," she started, keeping her distance.

"Now you want to talk?" he scoffed.

Her instinct was to take a step back, but her back was already against the wall.

"You're a hypocrite." She couldn't deny that. She had been the one to ignore him for a long time. "What makes you think I want to talk to you  _now_?"

"We're hurting."

And that was the truth. His lips pressed thin. He remained frozen in his spot. Plucking up courage, Angelica walked towards him and took his hand. He shoved her off. Far from giving up, she put her hand on his arm and reached up to his hair. He stiffened but didn't push cursed her inside.

The bloody hair.

He had wondered if she touched it on purpose before. Now he knew she was aware he couldn't resist her when she played with his tufts. If Andromeda asked Angelica later, the muggle would tell her she had detected longing in Severus's eyes, even if it had been for a moment.

"Will you work on the antidote now?"

Her stance was innocent, as were her eyes, yet she scratched her nose. That was enough for Severus to know that she was nervous about accomplishing her goal. If that was to pretend everything was fine, she would be highly disappointed.

"Don't. Touch. My.  _Hair_." She withdrew her hand as if his hair was on fire. "I know what you aim to do. Don't waste your time. Whatever your mind has fantasized about won't come to life because it's only that: a fantasy."

Angelica clenched her fists and counted to ten mentally, willing to calm down and avert a situation in which she screamed, he matched her tone and both ended flustered, angry and dissatisfied.

"I miss you. Your meanness won't scare me away."

The lines of his face softened to the point his sneer wasn't visible. Gods. There she was, being the stubborn and kind self that had charmed him with no magic, the woman that read his mind like nobody had ever done. She hadn't followed Lily's path. She was here to make up. His heart wanted to crush her against the nearest wall and snog her senseless. The voice of reason kept him under control, warning him that was not a wise path. He shut his heart.

"I'd like to go back to how things were before I… Ugh, kissed you. You've become my best friend, and your decision not to be more than friends has hurt me a lot, but not talking to you… That is even more painful. I was angry, and I showed it. I needed to let it out. Now I need to make things right. Do you think we can be friends?"

It was phrased as a question, but it sure sounded like a plea, and he hated the sound.

Angelica wanted to become more than friends. But considering he was taking his time to even agree on being friends, she kept that to herself for the time being. Being friends would be a huge step forward, and she could always find solace in the fact that he was still in her life, even if it wasn't the way her heart longed for.

"I don't know."

She swallowed hard. At least his response had not been a resounding  _no_.

"Are you willing to try?"

For the longest time, only silence was heard. His hair hung, covering his face. If he had an answer, he would have told her. With slumped shoulders, Angelica made her way out. By the time his silky voice spoke, she had already reached the doorway.

"I am willing, but we cannot become very close."

Angelica didn't turn around to face him, but she tilted her head enough to beam at him and say, "When you get tired of working, you know where to find me."

Afro curls disappeared from his sight, and he was left messed-up with dozens of potion ingredients and a cauldron to begin brewing. The voice of the reason struck again. Too risky. He had been too risky. But his heart thumped strongly again, and deep down, he was selfish enough to pursue a friendship. After all, had she not kissed him, they'd still be friends.

Their next conversation was awkward, but she had a talent for making him feel at ease with a simple smile and an ounce of raillery. He still stiffened if she touched his arm or if she took his hand. Angelica soon realized that as long as she didn't have physical contact of any kind with him, they'd be all right. And she was right. Slowly, their relationship went back to the friendship both of them had missed so much.

* * *

 

Despite the rain, Severus was in a far better mood than usual. Everybody could tell because the regular scowl on his forehead wasn't perceptible.

"You aren't sneering for once. What's happened today?" asked Angelica with Samuel and Ezra in her arms.

The gleam in her hazel eyes trapped him. He had no choice but to confess he almost had the antidote. Angelica smiled a true smile he had not seen directed to him in a long time. How he missed it.

"Really? When will you finish it?"

"On Monday. I need three petals of moly, and the apothecary is closed on the weekends."

She frowned.

"So you haven't tried the potion? You just have the feeling it'll work?"

"It  _will_  work, Angelica. It makes all the sense of the world. I have been blind all this time."

She tilted her head.

"What opened your eyes? How did you realize that moly was the missing piece?"

He smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Severus!"

Merlin. It was so easy to tease her. The vein on her neck throbbed so easily, and the irritation in her eyes lured him into kissing her. It would be so easy. He'd bow his head, lift her chin and press their lips.

Wait.

He was getting carried away, like in almost every conversation they held. His mind often drifted to how touching her or letting her touch him would feel, something that turned remaining only friends into a challenging task.

He cleared his throat.

"Draco and the twins."

"My sons are certainly not experts on Potions."

Severus rolled his eyes at her obvious statement.

"I watched Draco assisting Ezra and Samuel with the wooden puzzle. The twins focused on the details and couldn't solve the puzzle until Draco showed them the final image they had to create. That's what happened to me. I focused too much on the details and didn't see the whole picture. Now I do."

Two babies had cleared his vision. Who would have known? She grinned impishly and left the babies on the floor, crawling and babbling happily.

"You said muggles can't make potions, but can they help?"

_We don't make potions, we brew them_ , he thought, although he didn't even bother correcting her choice of words. He didn't even cringe at it. He was used to her muggle way of speaking. He raised his eyebrows instead.

"Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged.

"I'd like to help you. It looks like cooking, only with more fumes and weirder colors and ingredients."

He snorted. Of course she'd compare brewing potions to cooking. He couldn't deny there was a certain resemblance, especially to the muggle mind, even if the aims of both activities were completely different. However, if there was a muggle subject that could be an analogy of Potions that was Chemistry, not cooking.

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Why not?" she shot back. "This antidote is supposed to save your life. Perhaps, once it is brewed, we can be together. You will not die. You wouldn't have an excuse to deny us then."

His jaw clenched. They had agreed they'd be friends, nothing more. He growled a word, her name. It didn't scare her. Not one bit.

"I tried to see you as my friend, but I feel more. I want more. I know you want the same, deep down. You are just too noble and cautious to start a relationship when you believe getting so close will hurt me."

Severus swallowed hard and lowered his gaze. Why the hell did she know him so well? It was terrifying, and at the same time, exciting. She was one of the very few people in his life that had taken the time to know him. She cared for him.

"What you fail to see is that I am suffering anyway every time you push me away when I hold your hand, every time you think I am getting too close and you move away. The potion kept us apart. Now it will bond us again."

"Angelica…" he said in the tone that told her she was crossing a line.

Being one of the very few people who didn't feel intimidated under his warning glare, she only rolled her eyes.

"Don't."

She lowered her eyebrows, a sign he had learnt to decipher as the beginning of an angry outburst.

"Don't what? Fight for us? Well, seeing as you aren't making a move I-"

"Angelica! Stop it! There is no  _us_!"

He almost gripped her by her shoulders. She was exasperating him. His heart was aching again. Didn't she see it?

"There isn't because you're a  _coward_!" she screamed, pointing at him.

He paled. His face contorted in pain, but only for a second. He stared at her. Not in fury. Not in resentment or disappointment. He was a blank book. He didn't even bother answering her. He had almost screeched that after everything he had been through, after everything he had done for Albus, for Draco, for  _her_ and _her children,_  he was anything but a coward. Saying no to her had been one of the hardest decisions he had ever made. One of the bravest. He had given up his felicity in hopes of protecting her from him. Now that she had told him she was still suffering because he had rejected her and he still chose to keep his distance though, he felt like he deserved the word coward. Unable to say anything else, he turned on his heel and left.

They didn't cross paths until the sun began to hide behind the mountains that were visible from the windows, when Remus, Nymphadora and their baby got home.

An argument followed. Never had Angelica seen Andromeda so desperate. Taking Nymphadora by the collar, she kept begging her not to go to the war, to take care of Teddy and let the others fight. Her pleas were futile against a hufflepuff and a gryffindor, members of the Order. Fighting in the war was their duty, their way of building a brand new fairer world where Teddy would be raised. They wouldn't feel like good parents if they didn't fight for the world they wanted. Andromeda, being a slytherin, kept telling them that would matter not if they weren't there to raise their son up. Neither her daughter nor Remus changed their minds.

Angelica could only take her aunt's hand in support. Severus had not pronounced a word, but the lines of his face hardened. Draco could only hold his breath while he watched the couple kiss Teddy one more time before going to the Final Battle and leaving him with his grandmother, who was merely holding back her tears. Usually, when Teddy was in the house, the room filled up with joy. Now anxiety and fear travelled across the air they breathed, intoxicating them.

"The war's going to end tonight, isn't it?" asked Angelica.

"Most likely," said Severus, flatly. "I must go."

She sucked in a short intake of breath. She might be mad at him, but she didn't want him to die.

"What?! But the antidote isn't-"

"I. Must. Go," he cut her off, drawling each word and leaving no room for discussion. "If I don't, they will find me sooner or later, and they will kill us all, not only me. None of you deserve death."

"Why do you believe you will die tonight?" asked Draco, grey eyes wide in horror.

"The Dark Lord doesn't know you disarmed Dumbledore. I was the one to kill him. Consequently, he believes I am the owner of the Elder wand," he explained too calmly for Angelica's liking.

"The Elder wand?" inquired Andromeda. "That's a legend. It doesn't exist."

Draco narrowed his eyes. Obviously, he thought the same. Angelica was confused but wisely chose to listen first and ask questions later.

"It exists. It is in the Dark Lord's possession, but he doesn't control its power because Draco is the real owner, although he believes I am."

"So You-know-who will kill you to become the real owner," deduced Andromeda.

He nodded.

Draco choked. Severus had been a reliable figure throughout his life. He was his family, his Professor. His godfather couldn't die. He couldn't die in his place. He felt guilty enough he had been on the run since he had tried to save him.

"We must find a way to solve this."

Severus sighed.

"There is no other way, Draco. We have no time. I must play my role."

That phrase was a euphemism to refer to his death Angelica neither missed nor liked.

"But  _I_ am the owner!"

"And I would never forgive myself if the Dark Lord killed you, Draco. I risked my life for you. Don't let that be in vain." Severus forced himself to speak gently, although the stern tone was still evident when he added, "I must do this. If the Dark Lord wins, keep hiding. Don't look for your parents or it will be your doom."

Draco hunched his shoulders and gulped. Nothing he could say would persuade Severus. He didn't want him to die. He didn't want to die himself. A toddler without parents. That's how he felt in front of the war.  _Most likely like Teddy will feel in the future_ , he thought darkly. Whatever decision Draco made wouldn't guarantee his survival, not his, not Severus's. Yet, accepting death though wasn't something he planned on doing. Where was Severus's self-preservation slytherin trait when he needed it the most?

He stared at Severus, at that hooked nose that peeked over him to control his potion and give him some advice, at those eyes that had instilled fear in so many students except him, at those hands that had dragged him outside the window of his Manor and saved his life in the process. Gratitude wasn't something Draco felt much, let alone something he expressed out loud. It was so rare it made him feel uncomfortable despite being a positive emotion. Still, today he couldn't let Severus go without hearing his appreciation. What else could he do? The man was as stubborn as a mule, loyal to the point he was risking his life without making a fuss.

"Thank you for… for  _everything._  You are a good godfather," he muttered, his voice thick.

Black eyes softened. He was about to retort it was his duty, but the boy looked up at him and hesitated for mere seconds before he made up his mind and extended his hand. Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise, his ability to speak lost. Did Draco really care for him? Would he be missed when he was gone? One look at those troubled grey eyes and Severus knew he would. Eventually, he shook his hand.

"Take care, Draco."

The boy pulled away and nodded, a bit red-cheeked for his display of affection. Andromeda put a hand on Draco's shoulder and exchanged looks with Severus, letting him know that she would take care of her nephew, no matter the relationship she had with her sister.

He locked eyes with Angelica, those hazel eyes with golden grains that had always fascinated him. He didn't know what to say. Technically, they still were mad at each other. But they still were friends too, weren't they? At least, he hoped so. He didn't want to die knowing he had one less friend. He didn't want to die without feeling her warmth again. His hand lifted and stopped midair. How would she react if he touched her? He doubted his heart could take it if she flinched away from him. Still, he had to try, so he finally cupped her chin with his slightly shaky hands.

Angelica made a half-choking half-sob sound.

"You're an idiot, Severus Snape! A fucking idiot! You're willingly walking to your death! You don't have to do this!"

If she continued to look at him with so much desperation and something else he didn't dare to name, he feared he would comply and end up regretting it like the time they made love.

"Angelica," he muttered in a warning tone.

"We'll go on the run again and spend the rest of our lives in the woods! I don't care! But don't do this! Don't you dare leave us all alone! You vowed you'd protect us! Dying isn't a good way to fulfill your promise!"

"I already told you my reasons. If I don't leave, they will find us all. You and your children have more chances to survive without me."

She could scream all she wanted. Her arguments weren't strong enough to convince him and squash his stupid logic. There was one argument that could make him stay though. She wasn't sure if she was ready or not to say it out loud. She wasn't even sure if he was ready or not to hear it. Yet, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the words had rolled off her tongue before she could stop them.

"You piss me off more often than not, but I love you, you bloody moron! Don't do this to me! I can't go through this again!"

She was breathing hard, and despite her tanned skin, her cheeks had turned rosier. She was a mess, on the verge of crying, but she didn't take her words back.

Far from being surprised, Andromeda looked at her pityingly. Draco wasn't astounded by the confession either. If there was someone who could persuade Severus, that was his cousin.

Black eyes widened when the four-lettered word,  _love_ , fell from her lips. He forgot how to breathe. His pale cheeks grew hot. She loved him?  _Him_? Nothing in her body language told him she had lied, and she wasn't cruel. She wouldn't joke about something like that. Hard as it was to do so, incomprehensible as it seemed, he believed her. Everything he had ever craved was love. He had convinced himself he was unlovable and when somebody finally came to his life and somehow grew to love him, it was the worst timing ever. Life wasn't only unfair. Life was cruel and had a dark sense of humor.

Now he understood why she said she suffered even more when he rejected her. He had thought she didn't feel for him what he felt for her. He had truly believed that she would forget about him. But she loved him. Her feelings were strong. He had hurt her so much. He was going to hurt her more now. His eyes softened and he caressed her cheek.

Even his voice sounded sweeter when he murmured, "That's why I told you it was a mistake, Angelica. You never listen."

She knew what that mistake referred to: making love, acting on their hearts' impulses. She choked, angry tears coming to her eyes, yet her voice sounded fragile when she asked, "Do you regret it so much?"

Air caught in his throat.

"I regret how much this is hurting you, but I am an egoistic man, and there is a part of me that is glad that happened. It blessed me and cursed me at the same time."

Her lips quivered, about to sob or scream. He wiped away a tear that was coursing down her cheek with his thumb.

"Ezra and Samuel will make you happy. You will be fine."

That was what he told himself to pacify his mind.

It didn't pacify hers.

Severus was the only man she had ever felt safe with bar her father. Not even her sons' father had made her feel special. He had never made love to her; it had only been sex. They hadn't been together long enough to build so strong feelings. She had only been intimate with Severus once, but it had meant the world to her. That's just how smitten she was. After being attacked by Bellatrix, she doubted she would ever feel secure without him. She wanted to pull him into her, kiss him, hug him, make him stay, but wrath controlled her. It gathered in her hands, which moved and shoved him off her. An intense pain settled in his eyes at her rejection. If her rage hadn't been so powerful, she would have apologized.

He tried to reach for her again, to cup her chin and see those golden bits he had always been fond of one last time, but she turned her head as soon as his fingertips brushed her skin as if he had burned her. And he had. Like a moth going to the flame. He had finally burned her. The tug of war they had performed had taken its toll on them. His nightmare had come true.

Severus swallowed hard.

"I don't blame you for being angry. Remember that when I am gone. I wish you farewell, Angelica."

When she raised her misty eyes, Severus was nowhere to be seen. She released three tears: the first for her ire, the second for her helplessness, and the third for her hope. The antidote. Everything wasn't lost yet. She wouldn't let Severus go that easily.

"Aunt Andromeda, Draco… I know how to save him, but I need your help."


	15. Chapter 15

Get three moly petals.

Brew the antidote.

Save Severus.

These were the three steps of Angelica's plan. Easier said than done.

Draco did not think twice before entering the laboratory to start looking for the cauldron and the ingredients. He was so used to seeing Severus silently working there that the laboratory looked incomplete without him, almost as if it lacked its spirit.  _How ridiculous_ , he thought.  _Labs don't have spirits_. And yet, the room felt empty. It didn't take him long to spot notes with his godfather's spidery handwriting.

Angelica looked after Teddy and her sons but lent a hand whenever she could, even if it was to chop a root of something unpronounceable for her.

Meanwhile, Andromeda looked for the owner of the apothecary. She didn't care that the shop was closed. It was a matter of life and death. Convincing the owner to sell her three moly petals was effortless for her. After all, slytherins were persuasive. Money was even more cogent.

An hour later, a flask with a silver soupy liquid was in Angelica's hand. She kissed her children's cheeks and cast her aunt a meaningful glance. Andromeda knew then she'd be looking not only after her grandchild but after the twins. It wasn't until she took Ezra and Samuel from her mother that Draco understood what was going on though.

"I'll go  _alone_ ," he stressed.

Angelica snorted.

"You can't handle this alone."

He wrinkled his nose. He didn't like being contradicted. Why did everybody want to go to the battle today, anyway? Had everybody gone nuts? Didn't she see she could leave Samuel and Ezra motherless?

"I thought you weren't like Nymphadora," he reproached.

At the mention of her daughter, Andromeda glimpsed at Teddy, who was sleeping, and hugged the twins tighter in an attempt to seek console.

Angelica lowered her eyebrows.

" _Our_  cousin's gone to the war to build a better world. My reasons are  _selfish_. I couldn't care less about what happens to the rest of the fucking world as long as Severus lives. He's been protecting me and my children ever since we met. Now he is the one in danger. I can't abandon him."

"You're a muggle!" This time, he didn't say  _muggle_  with any trace of disgust. This time, the term was filled with worry. "How does your brilliant mind think you will be able to defend yourself without magic? You can get killed!"

"I trust you will apparate us back before  _anybody_  dies. Besides, I've got this," she replied, showing him her gun.

Draco huffed.

"Have you lost your mind?! A bloody gun won't be enough against witches and wizards!"

"It was enough against Fenrir Greyback," she muttered darkly.

Both Andromeda and Draco sucked in a short intake of breath.

"Y-you were the one w-who-"

"Yes," she cut Andromeda off and looked at the boy. "I can defend myself, and I know you will protect me. Severus needs us. We're wasting time."

Draco sometimes hated she was so stubborn. Now it was one of those times. If he stayed to argue though, Severus would slip away. In fact, they had no guarantees he wasn't dead already. Time was a gift that couldn't go to waste. With that thought in mind, Draco grabbed her upper arm and apparated near to Hogwarts' grounds.

Granted, the air was chilly, but that wasn't the main reason Angelica felt goosebumps prick on her arms. The Dark Mark that illuminated the sky and blurred the stars was. A mere peek at it was enough to fill her brain with the desperate screams of her muggle parents. Her body trembled.

Fully aware that if she didn't stop thinking about her mother's corpse, the image that would occupy her mind would be Severus's cadaver, she asked, "Where can he be?"

Candidly, Draco had no idea. He knew one thing though: they had to move, so he took her hand and ran.

They kept covering themselves behind trees, rocks or fallen walls. Angelica didn't use her gun unless strictly necessary – and even then, she hit the enemy on the legs. Shooting to kill was out of the question. One killing had scarred her enough.

She scanned the scene while Draco fought, trying to locate Severus to no avail. She spotted two figures – a man and a woman – drawing near instead. The boy was busy defending them against three Death Eaters. Two more would be too many for him. With that thought in mind, Angelica raised her gun. She was about to pull the trigger when the figures cast a spell. She curled up in instinct, waiting for the hit. It didn't hit her, but she kept shaking like a leaf, eyes shut.

"Father!" screamed Draco.

Her eyes flew open. The first thing she searched was the three Death Eaters that had been bothering them.

Knocked-out, on the ground.

The second thing he sought was Draco.

In an embrace, squeezed between the two figures she had thought would kill them.

She let out a relieved sigh when she realized they were safe for the time being. She approached them cautiously, trying to see their faces if only to make sure she hadn't misheard Draco calling that man his father.

She had heard right. Draco was the spitting image of that man. She had expected his mother to look like Andromeda and Bellatrix, but at first glance, she did not detect similar physical traits. It wasn't until Narcissa's nose wrinkled that Angelica was reminded of Andromeda. She, too, wrinkled her nose the same way while holding back tears. That was precisely what Narcissa was doing, that plus kissing the top of Draco's head. Apparently, Angelica had got too close, for she felt the tip of a wand on her neck.

Lucius's.

She let out a squeak and looked at Draco. He opened his mouth to help her, but Narcissa beat him to it. She lowered her husband's wand, all the while keeping her eyes locked on a pair of hazel eyes and thick eyelashes – like all Rosiers.

"You are Ella's daughter," she breathed. Angelica nodded, ignoring the once-over Lucius gave her. "What are you doing here? Why are you two here?"

Angelica only muttered Severus's name.

Lucius paled. He knew where Severus was. When Voldemort had asked him about Severus's location, self-preservation had spoken for him. It had been either that or incensing the Dark Lord. The latter was never, under any circumstances, a good idea. The Dark Lord had been after Severus since he escaped with Draco, but that night, he had been in a hurry to murder him.

"Father?" asked Draco, worried.

Lucius came out of his trance.

"Shrieking Shack… He's in the Shrieking Shack. He will die, Draco. We can't do anything for him. If you go there, the Dark Lord will kill you too."

If it was somebody else being attacked by Voldemort, Draco would hide and never look back. But it was Severus. He owed him his life. He was sacrificing himself for him. If there was anybody in the world who wanted to protect him, that was the Potions Master. It would be foolish of Draco not to try to save him at least. He had no guarantees he would be able to survive without him. Severus had been there to protect him. Always. He doubted his own life would be safe without him. Not to mention they had come so far. He wouldn't back down now. Angelica surely wouldn't.

"We have the antidote," he said. "We can save him. You can either help us or go with Aunt Andromeda." Narcissa took an unconscious step back Draco didn't miss. "She will help you. I swear. Just don't stay here."

Lucius pursed his lips, clearly debating what to do. He didn't like the idea of risking their lives, but Severus had made the unbreakable vow. He had been a good godfather, always there to save his son. He was in debt to Severus. He had already betrayed him by divulging his location to the one who was bound to kill him. Would Lucius abandon him again? One glance at his teary wife, at his almost suppliant son, and his decision was made: they would at least try to help and ran away from this absolute madness later. His conscience wouldn't be clean otherwise. He had many regrets wandering across his mind already. He didn't want to add another. He didn't want to disappoint Draco either. He told himself he was doing this to protect Draco, to pay his debts to the man who had kept his son safe. That persuaded him into heading towards the Shrieking Shack.

On the way, they didn't talk, just kept going, defending themselves when a few hexes and curses were shot at them, attacking if necessary. At last, they identified the Shack from the distance. Draco and Angelica were the first to quicken the pace. Narcissa and Lucius followed them closely.

"Severus?" called Draco while his family sought the man in the gloomy place.

The dust that tickled his nose. The cobwebs got on his way. A smell that harkened him back to Death Eater meetings filled his nostrils. It was the smell of blood…

And death.

A horrified scream alerted him.

The shrilling sound acted like a magnet. By the time the Malfoy family arrived at the room where it had come from, the flask with the antidote had been already emptied, on the floor. A mass of afro curls half-covered Severus's face, but his neck was visible, his neck and a nasty wound. Narcissa made to approach her fallen friend, but Draco caught her wrist and told her to wait. Lucius looked at Severus in concern but stood still, watching the muggle he had just met trying to wake the godfather of his son up.

A teared-eyed Angelica was caressing his face. The bleeding had stopped, but Severus didn't move. With every passing second, her heart ached more; her mind came with more future scenarios. All of them included a dead man, the man she loved. It was the worst of tortures.

"If you die on me, I will find a way to bring you back just to kill you again," she half-joshed half-meant.

He always answered with snarky remarks when she teased him, always except in that precise moment. The thought that she would never see his black eyes again punched her guts. Her shoulders shook and tears sprang to her eyes. She bit her bottom lip so as not to cry. One second, two seconds, three seconds… At the count of ten, all the sobs she had kept inside escaped her.

Sobs usually meant sadness. Not hers. Hers came from a consuming rage. Rage because she had imperiled her life to save him. Rage because despite risking leaving her children motherless, he showed no signs of life. Rage because he was willing to sacrifice his life as if it was trash, as if nobody cared when she had told him she loved him. Rage because she should have kissed him, hugged and tied him to a freaking chair if necessary, done the impossible to keep him from coming to the Battle, to his death.

She was so furious with him, herself and the war, she hit him in the chest. Hopefully, the agonizing orchestra of sobs and blows would wake Severus up and make him grumble something about the lines that she had hands like hammers and a raucous high-pitched voice which hurt his eardrums.

His silence nettled her even more.

"This is  _your_  antidote! It has to work! Don't leave me alone, you, bastard! You promised you'd protect me! You had to protect my  _children_! What will I do without you? Answer me, goddamn! You're being fucking selfish! I told you that I  _love_  you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

His eyelids remained lowered.

She beat him so hard her hands hurt. That stinging pain was nothing compared to her heartache. She just wanted him to open his eyes, grunt and scowl. She wanted him to  _respond_. But how? A stray hair caught her attention then. On impulse, she tucked it behind his ear, like she had done so many times.

That was it.

His hair.

He always surrendered when she played with it. He always  _responded_. Hence, she planted smacking kisses on his cold lips, one hand cupping his jaw, the other toying with a lock of greasy hair. Nothing. And then she felt the faintest movement of his lips responding to her kiss, and she pulled back with a gasp. Eyes like the starry night were staring back at her, those eyes she had thought she wouldn't see again. Time stopped for her.

"You're alive?"

Her heart was beating faster than it should, and she would have sworn she had heard Draco chuckling at her inane question.

"That seems to be the case…" Severus said groggily.

Any other woman would be smiling, crying with joy and relief, hugging the man who had stolen her heart. Angelica wasn't any other woman. Oh, she was happy but she didn't show it. Instead, a vein in her neck throbbed. She resumed hitting his chest, ranting over and over again what a bloody bastard he was for scaring her like that.

She didn't stop until he clucked his tongue and teased, "You always fall in love with bastards… and I'm glad."

She had told him that the day she had first kissed him. He remembered. That did it. She let out a sob and finally laughed through her tears. He smiled a crooked smile.  _Arsehole_ , she thought. But he was her arsehole, and he was alive, so she flashed him a sunny smile and kept playing with his hair with one hand. The other stroked his cheek.

"How come I am not dead?" he wondered, leaning into her palm unwittingly.

"Aunt Andromeda got the moly petals, Draco made the potion, I took the gun and we came here." Another sob escaped her. "Jesus! I was terrified! I thought–"

Severus shushed her, putting his trembling fingers on her lips. They slithered across her cheeks, wiping her tears away while gazing up at her hazel eyes as if they were a more effective antidote than anything brewed in a lab.

Lucius furrowed his brow at the scene, while Narcissa lifted an eyebrow. Such an emotional episode coming from Severus and Angelica had been unexpected, to say the least. Draco, on the other hand, was grinning slyly. His mind was coming up with sentences to tease them later. If only Andromeda had been here to witness this after trying so hard to get the stubborn couple together… Only his near-death experience had triggered their romance to the next level; at least, Severus kept looking at Angelica's lips as if he couldn't wait to taste them again, like a bloody teenager in front of his crush.

That made the boy chuckle, catching his godfather's attention.

"Draco," he started. He wanted to thank him, but the words that rolled off his tongue masked his gratitude under sarcasm. "I can't decide whether coming here was brave or stupid. In all my teaching years, that incertitude has only been applied to gryffindors."

Draco gave him a lopsided grin.

"I don't need to be a bloody gryffindor to be brave. I learned that from you."

Severus looked at him like he had never done before. Draco would describe it as sheer pride; Angelica, as tenderness.

"Are you okay?" interrupted Narcissa.

Severus stood up. He would have fallen if Angelica hadn't leaned his weight on her. The color of his skin was a bit paler than usual and his voice hadn't really come steadily since he drank the potion.

"I'm fine."

"You're fine my  _arse_! You almost died, moron! You need rest!" scolded Angelica. The Malfoys actually smirked when they realized the muggle didn't take shit from anyone, not even from him. "There's still a war going on! We need to apparate to Andromeda's. So come on. Do your magic and get us out of here."

She was so feisty nobody dared to contradict her, nobody bar Severus himself, that is. The Malfoys exchanged looks. Only one minute after seeing them together, they already knew Angelica and Severus matched.

"I have to fight, woman."

"You've fought enough!"

"Angelica…" he said in a warning tone, gnashing his teeth.

"You can't even stand on your feet, for goodness' sake!"

"Angelica…"

"I've almost lost you!" she screamed, tightening her grip on him. "Don't you think you've scared me enough? I don't want to see you dead, dammit! I want you safe and sound, far from this war! We'll go on the run if we must, but don't sacrifice your life. Your Lord believes you are dead! There's nothing else you have to do, not a duty to fulfill! You've done enough. You have a future with me if you'll have me."

A future.

A gift he hadn't dreamed of receiving. A future with her sure tasted sweet. Mere minutes ago, he had been convinced the last thing he would see would be Harry's eyes,  _Lily's_  eyes. But he was alive, looking into a pair of hazel eyes with golden flecks full of promises of a future with her. He couldn't say no to her, to a future. He didn't want to for once. He had denied himself that privilege for too long. Angelica was right. He had done his job and met his duties. The war depended on Potter now. If Voldemort lost, he would be free. If Voldemort won, he would be on the run.

But he would be with her.

Suddenly, he felt alive. He had never felt alive. He had only existed, worked for different masters, for Lily's memory. He hadn't lived. Now he was living, and it was thanks to Angelica. If there hadn't been an audience and he wasn't so socially inept, he would have kissed her, but there was an audience, and expressing his feelings was not his forte. Alas, a nod sufficed. He would have sworn she had tightened his grip on him.

"Aunt Andromeda will welcome you home if you come…" she said, glancing at the Malfoys. "Nobody's safe here. Come on. Let's go."

Lucius put a hand on Narcissa's shoulder. She leaned into him, torn between staying in the Battle and confronting her sister. Either way, the conflict would continue. Draco took her hand then. It was the strength she needed. Seconds later, the odor of blood wasn't palpable anymore.


	16. Chapter 16

The sun had come up a few hours ago, but Severus didn't climb out of bed. It smelled of Angelica, of her honeyed shampoo. His hands inched across the bedsheets. She wasn't with him. He was disappointed...

And  _cold_.

He wouldn't admit it.

Luckily, a few seconds later a warm body brushed against his hip. He knew it was Angelica even before she greeted him. His eyes accustomed to the light of her muggle flat and his ears to the sound of twins making babbling sounds and crawling across the room.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'd feel better if those little terrors of yours shut up and let me sleep."

Angelica smirked. She had grown immune to his grumbles, mainly first thing in the morning.

"You adore them and you know it."

He didn't deny it but he did turn his head and pretend he wanted to sleep.

"This childish attitude doesn't suit you. You never were so…  _lazy_."

"I've worked all my life. In fact, I had a 24/7 job. I put my life on the line all the time," he grunted. "I've gained the right to rest."

"So you want me to go?" she asked with a lifted eyebrow.

Silence.

"I did not say that."

His low voice, his face half-hidden into his pillow... How sheepish he had grown. Angelica found it adorable.

"Oh, so you  _do_  like my presence?" She leaned down until her lips touched his cheek. He turned his head to let her lips brush his, but she didn't kiss him. Instead, he kept their faces millimeters apart and husked, "I'm not such a bad kisser after all, am I?"

Sweet Salazar. She was annoying as hell. She was alluring as hell too. He was whipped.

"You are too boastful," he muttered under his breath.

She giggled and he felt lighter when she lay next to him, tracing circles on his chest.

This was the bed they had shared at night, back in her flat. Due to the aftereffects of the sectumsempra curse, Angelica had always found him asleep by the time she went to bed. It had not been easy for her to sleep with a stranger she deemed was an assassin. In fact, she had been counting the days until he left. It wasn't like the pregnancy had let her sleep either, so it didn't matter much. Still, she would have never imagined they'd be cuddling willingly in  _that_  bed.

It had been his idea, actually. After leaving the Malfoys with Teddy and Andromeda and picking the twins up, Severus insisted on coming to her flat and sleeping to recover from his almost decease – the Death Eaters wouldn't look for them there while fighting at Hogwarts, even less when they believed Severus had died. She was only too pleased to go back home. She had intended on sleeping on the sofa and let him have her bed so that he would rest comfortably, but he surprised her by asking her to stay. He looked so vulnerable and his voice had been so raw she complied. It wasn't like she didn't prefer to sleep by his side after almost losing him, anyhow. Besides, they didn't even talk. They only slept, each on their side of the bed.

The following morning, Draco apparated home. He raised an eyebrow when he found Angelica and Severus with their faces mere inches apart, leaning in to kiss slowly while the twins played with stuffed animals under their feet. Oh, Aunt Andromeda would love to hear about  _that_. They were so into each other they didn't notice him, not even when he cleared his throat.

"Busy, aren't you? Still, people with manners greet the guests," teased Draco. "Even Samuel and Ezra have noticed me."

They pulled apart in a blink of an eye. A flushed Severus was sneering at the grinning boy, whereas Angelica grunted, "Why can't you wizards knock on the bloody door?"

Draco didn't answer though. He became serious. He had come there to break the news of the war.

The victory against Voldemort overjoyed Angelica. The death of the Lupins, however, drove her to despair. She hurt for Andromeda the most. Losing a child was unnatural, something no parent should ever experience. Not to mention little Teddy wouldn't even remember his parents. She pondered going to Andromeda's to offer some console, but Draco assured their aunt needed alone time.

"Tell her we're here for her if she needs us, okay? Even if it is to look after Teddy," Angelica muttered in a quivering voice anyway, blinking back her tears.

Draco nodded and left. Severus, who had remained silent all the time, made to put a solacing hand on her shoulder but wasn't fast enough. She was already heading to the kitchen. He followed her and found her preparing the bacon for breakfast. Occupying her mind with cooking was perfect to avoid mulling over the war and its consequences. She needed to look ahead, think about the future.

"What will you do now that the war is won?"

He didn't answer for a while. Angelica assumed it wasn't something he had thought about, being convinced he wouldn't live to see the dawn of another day.

"Live my life," he finally said.

In the Shrieking Shack, she had told him they had a future together and he had nodded at her. Maybe the bad news had put her in a pessimistic mood because now she queried whether he had meant it.

Afraid of what she would see in his eyes, she kept working on the breakfast and asked, "Am I going to be in your life?"

He answered by helping her with the cooking, keeping their bodies closer than he would have ever tolerated a few days ago. That was a yes, wasn't it? She  _needed_  it to be a yes.

"I want to be in  _your_ muggle life."

She took his wrist and stopped cooking, locking their gazes.

"What do you mean?"

"I want a new chance in life. I want to live in the muggle world with  _you_." He paused. Being such an explosive woman, he expected her to speak at the very least. She didn't even move. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat and continued, "I know I don't deserve you, not after hurting you the way I did, but– "

She cut him off with a brief smacking kiss which took away his capacity for speech for a short time. Merlin. The things she did to him.

"Angelica, I want to live with you."

He blamed his bluntness on the kiss she had just given him and waited for her response.

She studied his eyes. They were fixed on hers.

His throat. He hadn't swallowed.

His shoulders. They hadn't shrugged.

And finally, his hands. They hadn't stopped cupping her face since she interrupted him with a kiss.

The hands never lied. They didn't lie yesterday when he told her he wanted to live with her. They weren't lying today, while he caressed her arm up and down after waking up and calling her boastful, lying in bed.

"Do you still believe it is a curse to fall in love with bastards who have black hair, skillful hands and a sarcastic sense of humor?"

Angelica gulped.

"That depends. Do you still think you can't be the father of Ezra and Samuel?"

The lines of his face hardened; his voice low.

"I am not a good father referent."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"What if I don't want to be a father?"

She swallowed hard.

"I'd break up with you." She averted his eyes when she said that. They hadn't really talked about what they were. She had intuited they were more than friends, and he didn't push her away when she touched him or kissed him anymore. He even started the physical contact as if he had been starved of it his whole life. She simply didn't know how to define their relationship. "I love you, but my children come first. If you are not willing to act like their father, we may remain friends, nothing more."

But she didn't want that. Her grip on him had tightened as if she wanted him as close as possible.

His eyes shifted from her face to a photograph on the nightstand. It showed the newborn twins holding hands. Angelica had taken it after breastfeeding them for the first time. He had been there when they were born; heck, he had even held Ezra in his first minutes of life. His biological father couldn't brag about that. The twins had woken Severus up and irritated him more often than not but they had also smiled at him, unafraid. Very few people smiled at him, even less so innocently. When Bellatrix kidnapped them, he felt utter panic. When Samuel grasped his finger as if thanking him after he gave him a potion against fever, he felt utter joy. He was too attached to this little family, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Slowly, the wrinkles on his forehead faded; new ones appeared around his mouth when he half-smiled.

"It's a good thing you won't need to break up with me then."

She frowned at first, but then she understood what he meant: not only he wished to live with her but also to have a real relationship and be their father, everything she had asked him on countless occasions. They were talking about their future, a future he nearly did not have. At the realization, she choked back her tears of felicity save for one that rolled down her cheek and fell on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're alive," she whispered in a small voice, snuggling against him.

"I'm glad you saved me, but I can't help but wonder… If your children come first, why did you come after me? It was a reckless move on your part."

She didn't look him in the eye for the longest time. When she did, Severus was taken aback by the number of emotions her hazel irises held.

"I love you. I wouldn't have borne it if you had died. I wouldn't have been able to take care of my children knowing I did nothing to help you when I had the chance. I would have been…  _devastated_. I did what I thought was best for all of us."

Severus didn't know what to say. He could only feel his heart thumping. He would be devastated if she died like Lily too. He loved her. Was he ready for such a confession though? By no means. Hence, he did the only thing he had practice for to unstiffen the ambient: josh her.

"I thought you came after me because contradicting me and never listening to what I say are pastimes of yours."

And just like that, she laughed, and Severus felt like the most successful man on Earth for accomplishing so. A conversation of unintelligible babbles and coos took place in the background. Draco used to spend hours listening to the twins.

Draco.

He had acted as if the end of the war did not affect him negatively. It was a cover. She knew it.

Only a few days had gone by since Severus drank the antidote and the Final Battle was won, although Angelica was not certain if there were clear winners and losers. Harry Potter, the arrogant Scarhead according to Draco, had ensured Severus was a good man. Angelica didn't really know the boy. She didn't care if he was arrogant or not. She only cared about her loved ones, and Harry's words had granted Severus liberty. The Malfoy family, though, did not have it so easy. The Magical Law Enforcement department worked non-stop, capturing Death Eaters and bringing them to justice. Had she known that before meeting Draco, Angelica would have been relieved. No. Not only relieved. Exultant. Now a part of her was worried. Narcissa wouldn't go to prison because she had saved him by lying to Voldemort. Draco hadn't actively participated in the war and had the support of Severus. Lucius, on the other hand, had no alibi. He could very well enter in prison. History could repeat itself; Draco could go through the same pain she had gone through,  _again_.

"Severus?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm worried about Draco. Lucius is being judged soon and–"

Aware that Draco's father being judged evoked bad memories, he cut her off, "And we'll be there for him."

"Even though I am a muggle? Will they let me speak up in a wizarding court? I don't want Lucius to go to prison again. Draco's suffered enough."

"I'll make sure your voice can be heard. I promise."

And she believed him. He was a man of honor. She knew that firsthand.

Suddenly, Ezra squealed and pointed at something from behind them while Samuel clapped his hands. Severus frowned and followed the direction Ezra pointed to. If he looked through the window, he could spot a tawny owl with a letter waiting on the ledge of the muggle building.

That was the only reason they got out of the bed. A few moments later, Severus's voice read the note.

" _Dear niece and Severus,_

_How are Ezra and Samuel? Only two days have passed, but I already miss them. Teddy does, too. He loves to play with them._

_Draco told me what he saw at your home. I am glad you realized you are a good item. Both of you have a dark past but a bright future. A wedding would be a reason to celebrate and be joyful. We all need a dose of happiness, especially nowadays. Consider it. After all, you have practice being husband and wife already.–"_

Severus didn't process what Andromeda had written about a wedding until he finished the paragraph. He paused. The words hang in the room. He glanced at Angelica. Gods. Her eyes were intense. They made crazy things to his stomach. She had a lopsided grin on her face he wanted to rip off by kissing it. He didn't. He kept on reading to prevent the red from painting his cheeks.

"– _These past few days have been the hardest I have lived since Ted passed away, but Teddy keeps me going, and I am not alone. Even though I have lost many people, I have gained a family. I know I can count on you, and Narcissa and I are working on our differences. Draco is helping a lot._

_The war is won but the fight is not over. Not only are we grieving the deaths of my daughter and her spouse, of my sister, but we are also scared of the future. Draco tries to mask it, but he is the most frightened of all. I think he should talk to you two. Please, pay a visit._

_Best regards,_

_Andromeda Tonks."_

Severus raised his eyes from the parchment. She was still grinning mischievously. He still wanted to kiss her impish attitude away. He still didn't.

"We really have practice. Maybe we should follow her advice."

Was she suggesting what he thought she was suggesting? The way she touched her bare ring finger told him his suspicions were correct. She was considering getting married. He had never pictured himself wedded, but then again, he had never pictured himself surviving the war or agreeing to bring up two children. He looked at her hazel eyes, those eyes that hypnotized him so easily, and realized that if there was someone he wanted to call his wife, that was Angelica Wilson. He wasn't ready for such a commitment though. He was still coming to terms with his new life. Hence, he growled her name.

"What? Too fast?" she wondered innocently.

"Yes."

"Well, you have just acceded to be the father of my children, so…"

"Angelica."

She raised her palms in front of him.

"Okay… I'll wait for you to ask me. No big deal. My patience has improved since I've had children and I've met you and Draco."

He would have rolled his eyes at the last comment if it hadn't been for his shock. She truly wanted to become his wife.  _His_. It shouldn't surprise him. The first time she had said she loved him had been so spontaneous yet so genuine. Of course she would ask him to marry him impromptu. Angelica was like that. If she felt something, she said it… or screamed it.

Angelica did wait a few years for him to ask for her hand. When he whispered he loved her after making love at night, when he hugged her tight against him as if she was his whole world and nuzzled her neck with that big hooked nose of his, her patience ran out.

With a shove, she screamed, "Will you ask me to marry you already or what?"

He froze. He blinked. And then the corner of his mouth moved upwards. Yes. This woman always said what was in her heart, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I haven't bought an engagement ring yet."

The fact that was the only excuse his brilliant mind found told her he wanted to wed her even if he didn't pronounce a clear  _yes_.

"Who cares about that?" she cried out with a shrug. "Marry me!"

And she kissed him before he could answer. By the way he made love to her again, she guessed he had accepted indeed.

The following morning, she woke up in their bed. With eyes closed, her hands inched across the bedsheets. He wasn't with her. She was disappointed…

And cold.

She wouldn't admit it.

Feeling like staying in bed would be a waste of time, she opened her eyes. She almost missed an open box with a ring and a simple note on the empty side of the bed.

It read,  _"The answer is yes, you, impatient woman. I'll marry you. And you still need to learn how to lie better. You shrugged when you said you didn't care I had no ring for you."_

Even when he was trying to be romantic, he sounded like a bastard. Angelica could only grin like a fool though. She inspected the ring then. It had a singular gemstone embedded in the golden band.

A topaz, so similar to the color of her eyes.

The surface wasn't smooth. It looked like somebody had tried to break it.

"Do you like it?" asked Severus.

He was leaning in the doorway, studying her every reaction. She almost asked him how long he had stood there, but knowing him, he must have been there even before she woke up. Just thinking about it reminded her of why she wanted to marry him. Perhaps that was why she did not get angry about the broken ring, only confused.

"It's broken," she whispered.

He smiled, one of those rare smiles that filled her stomach with wild butterflies and left her breathless.

"It is not. It is scarred."

Since when were jewels scarred? For being such a logical man, he sometimes spoke nonsense. She almost said it out loud, but he kissed her scarred arms with infinite adoration and the air caught in her throat.

He put the ring on her finger, and that was when she realized the topaz still shone. The blows it had received made it even more unique and precious. The ring was his way to tell her he loved her despite her flaws and troubled past, to tell her she was beautiful despite her scarred skin and soul, just like the ring. A grin split into her face. Damn. Was she glad that the biological father of sons had left her! Both Severus and that poor excuse of a muggle were bastards, but particularly this bastard, the one who was stooping to kiss her, loved her with all his scarred soul.

And she loved his.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story! You can find a short sequel in my profile. It's titled "A muggle Christmas."


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